Morocco’s 2024 tax amnesty: Record $10 billion declared

CASABLANCA – The 2024 tax amnesty saw a declaration of more than 100 billion dirhams of assets ($10 billion), according to an official source from Morocco’s General Directorate of Taxes (DGI).

The record amount injected into the economy in 24 hours is five times the DGI’s forecast, and twenty times higher than that obtained during the previous amnesty in 2020.

The operation applied to individuals who had not declared their taxable profits and income in Morocco before January 1, 2024. should only bring in 5 billion dirhams to the State.

According to a source who spoke to Middle East Online, the declared funds generated 5 billion dirhams of net revenue to the State, which is gearing up for multi-billion-dollar investments for the 2030 World Cup.

The 100 billion dirhams declared represent 23.5% of the cash in circulation in Morocco, estimated at some 430 billion dirhams by the country's central bank.

Many people rushed to the banks and Moroccan tax authorities which agreed to open their counters to them exceptionally on December 28 and 29 before the December 31 deadline.

Moroccan officials said that the move was part of tax authorities’ fight against tax fraud and the underground economy that is hurting the State’s coffers.

Bank deposits alone would represent 60 billion dirhams while the rest would come from property acquisitions or contributions to current accounts of business associates, according to the Moroccan media.