Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee Slim Besbes said in a statement to AfricanManager on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 that the draft Finance Law for the year 2020 has been finalized and submitted to the Assembly of People’s Representatives by the Prime Ministry, noting that the next new parliament will consider that draft law and the state budget for 2020.
The 2020 finance bill, of which Africanmanager has received a copy, stipulates the reduction of the budget deficit by 3.5%. The self-financing rate in the budget has exceeded 76%, while it was around 69% in 2019.
The debt ratio, meanwhile, fell by two points, while the deficit will be of the order of 3%. As for the State’s own revenue, it will increase by 9%, while the State budget will increase by 9%. The wage bill will be around 19 billion dinars.
Social measures are planned
On the other hand, the finance bill 2020 proposes, as part of the new social measures, to increase the ceiling of the tax deduction for dependent ascendants, from 150 dinars to 450 dinars annually, for each parent, provided that they qualify for that deduction.
The project also mentioned the need to support the Tunisian Association of SOS Children’s Villages with the aim of improving the quality of life of orphaned and abandoned children and to increase the financial resources of this association by approving the full deduction of donations and subsidies granted on the basis of taxes, and on the basis of corporate taxes for donor associations.
It required telecommunication operators to deduct the value-added tax and to exempt it from the telecom fee for the amounts of SMS allocated to fund-raising for that association.
The 2020 finance bill aims to better control the costs of agricultural production and fishing and strengthen the competitiveness of companies specializing in the manufacture of equipment for this sector.
It also proposes a suspension of the application of VAT on polyamide, polyester and nylon yarn used in the manufacture and repair of fishing nets and ropes and on steel wires intended for the manufacture of fishing wire ropes.
It also includes the creation of a fund for the support of equality. Its funding will be devoted to developing infrastructure and improving working conditions in the courts.
That Fund will be financed, according to the draft Finance Law 2020, through fees to be established for this purpose, in support of justice with an amount set at 10 dinars on court decisions, orders of payment, and authorizations on requests from different courts, with certain exceptions.
Indeed, the 2020 finance law has allocated a budget of 140 million TD, for programs of to protect cities against floods. These will concern the cities of Nabeul, Metlaoui, Redeyef, Ksar Gafsa, as well as the region of Medenine (…).
It is recalled that the constitutional deadline for the adoption of the State Budget and the Finance Bill for the year 2020 is set for December 10 of each year. The two bills must be promulgated by the President of the Republic before December 31, 2019.
