Morocco proposes tax amnesty for informal businesses
Traders and other informal operators can register for the 2027 Finance Bill without penalties for past undeclared activity.
Morocco's proposed 2027 Finance Bill aims to bring informal businesses into the formal sector by allowing them to register with tax authorities without penalties for previous undeclared years. This revived incentive targets street vendors, market traders, mechanics, carpenters, painters, and shopkeepers who have operated outside the tax system.
A representative from Casablanca’s Derb Omar traders’ association stated that informal activity includes businesses operating from permanent premises or temporary stalls, with previous estimates suggesting around 25,000 street vendors in key commercial areas. The proposed measure exempts retrospective tax treatment for those registering under the professional tax system, though other obligations like licensing and social security remain.
This initiative reflects Morocco's continued strategy of using voluntary registration incentives to expand the tax base, rather than relying solely on enforcement measures. Similar simplified mechanisms, such as the auto-entrepreneur framework established in 2014, have been introduced previously to encourage formalization.