The Finance Law 2022 «is not the best possible one,» Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri admitted, adding, however, it was one of the finance acts that did not include any new tax measures burdening businesses.
«In view of the economic difficulties faced by the country, the result is acceptable insofar as the government has not increased taxation on companies, with corporate tax at 15%,» she added.
The minister was speaking at a webinar held Tuesday by Tunisia’s Joint Chambers Council (French: CCM), on the «impact of the 2022 Finance Law and new Tax Provisions.»
A number of speakers deplored the lack of measures likely to encourage investment, especially foreign investment and improve the business climate.
The 2022 finance law contains «significant» incentives to boost investment that benefits businesses, the minister indicated, citing the revaluation of built and unbuilt assets.
These assets can be revalued at their real value without exceeding a value calculated on the basis of indexes, to be published in the coming days, she said.
On Article 52 of the Finance Act, which cancels the VAT suspensive scheme for international trade companies and exporting service companies, the Finance Minister said the article alters the technique for granting this advantage; it is given on exit and no longer on entry.
The problem lies in the monitoring of the large amounts of VAT granted, she noted, adding that a study is underway on the modalities of application of the suspensive scheme.
Director General of studies and tax legislation Yahya Chemlali stressed that the time limits for the reimbursement of VAT will be reduced. Exporters will not lose this advantage and their treasuries will not be affected by this measure, which «is the first step towards dismantling the suspensive scheme,» he said.
Article 66 on the «cash amnesty» raised questions about the modalities of its implementation. The article mentions that the income of undeclared activities of individuals is subject to a tax in full discharge of all taxes and duties of 10%, provided they deposit them in a bank or postal account before July 1, 2022
Speakers emphasised the need to establish genuine coordination with the banks, which, in such cases, make use of reports on suspicious transactions.
For the Minister, this cash amnesty remains purely fiscal. «To benefit from it, the persons concerned must provide proof that the sources of this income are not dubious,” she pointed out.
Regarding the digitisation of the tax administration, Chemlali said the digitisation of the withholding tax certificate will come into force gradually as the technical problems of the platform dedicated to this subject are resolved.
