Academic and tax adviser Iskander Sellami said on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, that Tunisia’s wealth tax is not a new measure, noting that it was first introduced under the 2023 Finance Law, adopted by decree-law without extensive parliamentary debate or broad public consultation. At the time, the tax applied only to real estate assets valued at more than 3 million Tunisian dinars.
Speaking on Express FM, Sellami said the 2026 Finance Law has significantly broadened the scope of the tax. It now covers not only real estate but also a wide range of assets, including property rights, shares, equity interests, securities, vehicles and other forms of wealth.
He argued that the expansion was introduced without first assessing the effectiveness of the property-based wealth tax established in 2023.
The tax adviser also criticized the explanatory note issued by the Ministry of Finance, saying it has increased uncertainty, particularly regarding funds held in bank accounts.
According to Sellami, the guidance underwent several revisions, initially including bank deposits as taxable assets before later excluding them, creating confusion for both citizens and investors.
He added that business assets also raise important questions. The legislation, he said, lacks clarity on whether real estate used for commercial or professional activities should be included in the taxable wealth base, potentially leading to conflicting interpretations and tax disputes between taxpayers and the authorities.
Sellami further argued that one of the reform’s main shortcomings is the absence of objective mechanisms for valuing assets. This challenge is compounded by the lack of a reliable national real estate database and the suspension of the publication of Tunisia’s property price index since the first quarter of 2024, making it difficult to determine the actual value of taxable assets.
He also noted that the tax threshold of 3 million dinars has remained unchanged since 2023 despite rising inflation and higher asset prices. In his view, this could gradually expand the number of taxpayers subject to the levy without reflecting changes in the country’s economic environment.
More broadly, Sellami said Tunisia’s tax system suffers from a lack of coherence. He argued that fiscal measures are often introduced to boost government revenues without providing clear estimates of their expected returns or assessing their broader economic impact.
He also pointed out that Parliament did not conduct a meaningful evaluation of the wealth tax before expanding its scope.
According to Sellami, increasing public revenue should not rely solely on creating new taxes. Instead, he called for stronger efforts to combat tax fraud and evasion, enhanced oversight of high-risk sectors, and better use of information available to judicial authorities and regulatory bodies, rather than placing a disproportionate tax burden on small and medium-sized enterprises.
He also said many businesses continue to face challenges due to the complexity of tax procedures, delays in the repayment of amounts owed by the state, and financial penalties, all of which undermine their ability to invest and sustain operations.
Sellami concluded that meaningful tax reform requires an inclusive national dialogue capable of balancing the state’s need to raise revenue with the right of citizens and businesses to benefit from a stable, transparent and equitable tax system.
He also called for a review of tax compliance costs and a reassessment of tax incentives granted to companies, particularly SMEs, to encourage investment and support economic growth.
