Moroccan Parliament Approves 2027 Finance Bill

The Moroccan Parliament's lower house has approved the 2027 finance bill with a majority vote. The bill, numbered 60.26, received 179 votes in favor and 126 against, with no abstentions. The session was chaired by Ahmed Touizi, the speaker of the House of Representatives. The approval comes after the government responded to parliamentarians' interventions regarding the second part of the financial bill.

The finance bill includes several amendments proposed by parliamentarians, totaling 291 changes. These amendments were submitted by the government, majority groups, and opposition parties. The proposed changes include revising income tax, re-examining customs duties on imported goods, and measures to support purchasing power and organize wholesale markets. The government accepted 59 of the proposed amendments.

The 2027 finance bill is based on five priorities outlined by the government. These priorities include restoring purchasing power and establishing a sustainable social state. The government aims to support household income, continue implementing the royal project for social protection, and improve the healthcare system. The bill also focuses on enhancing the national education and higher education systems.

Another priority of the finance bill is integrating young people into education, training, and decent work. This involves reducing school dropout rates and providing young people with suitable solutions for integration, whether through education, training, work, or entrepreneurship. The government has allocated 44.2 billion dirhams for the social protection project in 2027.

The finance bill also aims to accelerate the implementation of advanced regionalization and a new generation of integrated territorial development programs. This involves mobilizing 210 billion dirhams over eight years to improve employment, basic services, and integrated territorial development. The bill also focuses on enhancing strategic sovereignty in areas such as water, energy, food, and digitalization.

In terms of water sovereignty, the bill aims to increase the storage capacity of national dams to over 24 billion cubic meters by 2027. It also plans to accelerate the construction of seawater desalination plants to reach 1.8 billion cubic meters by 2031. The bill includes measures to promote renewable energy, with a target of 52% of installed electrical capacity by 2030.

The 2027 finance bill will now be submitted to the House of Councillors for discussion and voting, following the legislative process. It will then return to the House of Representatives for a second reading before completing the final approval stages. The bill aims to build a strong economy capable of financing social and sovereign ambitions while maintaining macroeconomic and financial stability.

Key points

• The 2027 finance bill focuses on five priorities, including purchasing power and social protection.