Taxes that work
With higher tax revenues, municipalities in Morocco are improving their public services.
Following a constitutional reform, Morocco has transferred greater responsibility to its regions and municipalities. Decentralisation also goes hand in hand with a promise that citizens feel the tangible benefits of taxpayers’ money, and that the state can be trusted as a provider of public services.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been working closely with the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior and eight municipalities since 2023 on planning municipal budgets, increasing revenues and making public administration more responsive to citizens’ needs. The municipalities include major cities like Marrakesh and Agadir. Efforts are proving successful: on average, their revenues have increased by more than half since 2022. Project manager Mario Klee explains: ‘Mobilisation of their own resources is crucial for municipalities if they are to finance their public services for citizens sustainably and independently.’
Building confidence in public administration
As set out in the coalition agreement, the German Government wants to support countries in the Global South in developing their tax systems. Morocco is a good example of how this can be achieved.
Here, GIZ trains employees of municipal administrations on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on how to collect taxes and levies efficiently and fairly. Staff also learn how to verify this, for example by comparing tax registers with satellite images of residential areas. GIZ also advises on digital communication with taxpayers to raise awareness of how their taxes are used.
Improved public services
The aim of the Moroccan partners is for all taxpayers, regardless of whether they are companies or citizens, to pay their share. This makes the tax system fairer and more efficient. To improve attitudes towards paying taxes, the municipal administrations are thus focusing on making the system comprehensible and transparent and at the same time expanding services for citizens. Marrakesh’s revenues have increased by 68 per cent since 2022. The city used the additional income to finance the completion of a public marketplace and construction of public toilets.
