The rationalisation of tax and financial benefits and the improvement of the tax debt collection system, in particular by abolishing the statute of limitations, will help avoid excessive indebtedness," says financial risk specialist Mourad Hattab. In his analysis of the 2024 Finance Bill, which has a volume of TND 77.8 billion, up 9.3% compared to the previous year's state budget, Hattab stresses that these steps will enable the country to achieve a budget surplus instead of a deficit of almost TND 12 billion. Tunisia, which aims to achieve a growth rate of 2.1%, will need to borrow almost TND 28.2 billion, of which TND 16.5 billion will be borrowed on the domestic market, at a time when the country faces a budget deficit of 6.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024. In this context, Hattab referred to the latest report on tax expenditures and financial benefits issued by the Ministry of Finance, which shows that the volume of tax and financial benefits granted in 2021 will be limited to TND 8.3 billion. These funds represent about 6.41% of the value of GDP and 15.11% of the volume of the state budget. They are divided into fiscal benefits of TND 7.7 billion and financial benefits of TND 642 million. According to Hattab, these measures deprive the state of significant financial resources in a context where the principles of tax fairness are not respected and where tax legislation is scattered and complex. It also opens the door to estimations and evaluations, he added. Hattab emphasised that this system operates in a context that requires greater precision, particularly in terms of rationalising tax expenditure and directing it to those who are entitled to it. On the other hand, the economist pointed out that the value of established tax debts, i.e. debts that cannot be collected, is almost equal to the state's budget deficit. If these debts, which amount to about TND 10.2 billion, were collected, 60% of the country's external financing needs could be avoided. In the same context, he pointed out that the low level of recovery of these debts and the fact that some of them are time-barred show that the recovery system is not very effective and that there are still unresolved problems. In order to deal with this phenomenon, he recommended the establishment of a clear plan for the recovery of public debts, the development of law enforcement measures, the improvement of compulsory taxation procedures and the digitalisation of the management of the remaining tax debts. He concluded that the content of the current budget is a version of the easy solutions and a failure to adhere to the process of supporting development, such as the fight against the parallel economy, support for the solidarity and social economy, the creation of citizen enterprises and the fight against the cash economy, a speciality of certain regions. !3General!4

Source: EN - Agence Tunis Afrique Presse