Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on New Ideas in Management, Economics and Accounting
Year: 2024
DOI:
[PDF]
The Communes’ Share of Value-Added Tax Revenue: From an Operating Grant to an Instrument for Financing the Action Plans of Morocco’s Communes
MESSAOU Ismail and BARAKAT Hayate
ABSTRACT:
Since independence, Morocco has embarked on a number of territorial reforms aimed at strengthening the intentional place of the commune, by attributing to it many of the competencies for the management of local affairs. These reforms, have introduced new principles for the management of local government, namely territorial governance and strategic planning. The communal action plan (CAP) is one of the strategic planning tools instituted by the new organic law on communes, and is used to program priority projects and actions scheduled or planned to be carried out on the commune’s territory, with a view to providing citizens with local services and contributing to local development. Financing the projects set out in the CAPs is considered to be the sinews of war for communal councils, quite simply because their execution is conditional on the availability of the necessary financial resources. The question of sources of project funding at the level of small communes deserves to be examined, insofar as this category of local authorities suffers from the scarcity of its own resources and relies essentially on transferred resources, in particular the share in the proceeds of value-added tax. The aim of this research work is to show, through a quantitative study, how the share of VAT proceeds, as transferred revenue intended to cover operating costs, is transformed into an instrument for financing the projects programmed in the CAPs. We will then explore the financial challenges faced by these municipalities, and finally attempt to provide innovative and alternative financial solutions.
keywords: Financial autonomy, investments, local government powers, operating grants, own resources