Tax News
by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus
Moroccan Finance Minister Boussaid has made clear to the country’s Chamber of Councillors that the problem of capital flight abroad is not as widespread as initially feared, while insisting that the Government is taking strides to combat the issue, to recover vital lost tax revenues.
Conceding that the amount of capital involved is significant, and has accumulated over the course of several decades, Finance Minister Boussaid nevertheless emphasized that it is relatively low, compared to the global sum of transactions taking place between Morocco and other countries.
Furthermore, Finance Minister Boussaid pointed out that not all of the assets placed in foreign banks are linked to capital flight, but merely the result of legal transfers, carried out within the framework of agreements with economic actors resident in Morocco.
Boussaid stressed, however, that a legal and administrative system is in place to combat the problem. Morocco’s Foreign Exchange Bureau and Customs Administration closely control and monitor the circulation of foreign currency, the Minister explained. Furthermore, bank transfers between Morocco and other countries are controlled via the supervision of payments for imports of goods and services, for example, he added.
Concluding, Finance Minister Boussaid alluded to the “new type of control” in place, aimed at limiting the negative effects of capital flight.
Morocco’s Financial Intelligence Handling Unit (UTRF) recently outlined details of the Government’s new policy, designed to encourage tax evaders to repatriate their overseas assets to banks in Morocco.
