Accountant Anis Wahabi stated that “the only solution for Tunisia to overcome its difficult economic situation, create wealth, generate jobs, and improve quality of life is through public and private investment.”
Speaking on Express FM on Monday, March 10, 2025, he pointed out that the investment rate relative to GDP was 23.5% in 2000, before dropping to 21.9% in 2010, falling below 16% in 2022, and currently standing at less than 15%.
He also emphasized that investment is a significant issue, noting that this rate exceeds 24% in France, 19.9% in Italy, 27.1% in Morocco, and 28% in Turkey.
He added that private investment in Tunisia represents 5.5% of total investments, or less than 8% of GDP, which is very low compared to other countries, particularly in Asia, where it exceeds 25%.
“The foreign investment rate was 1.5% in 2013 and 1.4% in 2022, which is extremely low. Tunisia urgently needs foreign investment to boost its economic growth,” he stated.
New legal framework has moved away from reinvestment principle
The expert recalled that the 1993 Investment Incentives Code was considered revolutionary at the time and had helped encourage investment in Tunisia.
However, after 2011, it was deemed too generous without delivering satisfactory results. This led to the development of a new legal framework with Law No. 71 of 2016 and Law No. 8 of 2017 on tax incentives.
Nevertheless, he believes that this new framework has moved away from the reinvestment principle, negatively impacting investment in Tunisia.
He added that the new system has restricted the scope of investment incentives, limiting them to regional development, agriculture, education, cultural industries, youth programs, childhood initiatives, young entrepreneurs, innovative sectors, the green economy, and startups.
Three pillars of Tunisia’s investment system
On another note, he explained that Tunisia’s investment system is based on three pillars: authorization, tax incentives, and financial incentives.
Despite the reduction in the number of sectors subject to authorization, the expert believes Tunisia remains reliant on this mechanism. A 2018 decree outlined a list of around 60 activities that were to be replaced by specifications within six months, but this has yet to be implemented.
44% of incentives are not truly economy-oriented
The accountant highlighted that even the specifications in Tunisia are perceived as a form of authorization, as prior control has not been eliminated.
According to a 2017 report from the Ministry of Finance, tax expenditures amounted to 3,788 million dinars, or 11% of the state budget. Only 59% of these expenditures were directed to businesses, and 56% were allocated to economic objectives.
This means that 44% of incentives are not truly economy-oriented, indicating a lack of real encouragement for businesses.
He also revealed that tax incentives directly dedicated to investment amounted to 339 million dinars in 2020 but dropped to 145 million dinars in 2022, demonstrating the weakness of the fiscal system for encouraging investment.
Regarding the budget, he stated that fiscal policy is insufficient, with only 6 billion dinars allocated to investment out of a total budget of 79 billion dinars.
He compared this to 2010, when the investment budget was 3 billion dinars out of a total of 18 billion, concluding that the state seems to have disengaged from its public investment policy due to financial difficulties.
As for private investment, he noted that it lacks sufficient incentives to stimulate growth (…).
