MEDI1TV Afrique : LE GRAND JOURNAL MIDI - 22/10/2024
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00:00Hello everyone, glad to see you again in this Carrefour d'Informations, it's time for the big news of the afternoon and we start with the headlines.
00:23If there is a country that blocks the political process, it is Algeria and the UN Secretary General wanted to mention it in his recent annual report on the Moroccan Sahara.
00:38In Gaza, as in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army continues its offensive against the positions of Hezbollah, while the US Secretary of State has started a new tour in the region in order to put out a ceasefire.
00:53He wants to compete with the Western hegemony. Vladimir Putin welcomes in Kazan, starting this Tuesday, about twenty foreign leaders allied or partners for the annual summit of the BRICS.
01:08If there is a country that blocks the political process, it is Algeria and the UN Secretary General wanted to mention it in his recent annual report on the Moroccan Sahara.
01:27In Gaza, as in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army continues its offensive against the positions of Hezbollah, while the US Secretary General wanted to mention it in his recent annual report on the Moroccan Sahara.
01:47In this case, Morocco does not negotiate about its Sahara, but on the subject of a regional conflict with a neighbouring country.
01:59The head of Moroccan diplomacy recalled it yesterday by rejecting any idea of partition of the Moroccan Sahara for the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs.
02:07This proposal of the UN Secretary General for the Sahara, Stéphane de Mistura, is a dead proposition. It is heated, he said, and it is out of the question.
02:19Let's listen to the head of Moroccan diplomacy.
02:23We can say that he proposed this idea in his last visit to Morocco.
02:32The report of the UN Special Envoy, Stéphane de Mistura, concerning his proposal of partition of the Sahara is very real, and was mentioned during his visit to Morocco last April.
02:44Morocco reiterated its clear position in response to Stéphane de Mistura's proposal, which was formulated on the instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI,
03:03rejecting firmly his orientations aimed at failure, contrary to the position of the Kingdom and its people, as it had already been expressed in 2002.
03:11Morocco's response is clear. First of all, this is a new and old thing. It is heated.
03:21In the same way that we rejected the initial proposal, that of James Baker in 2002 on the proposal of Algiers, we have not given any interest to what seems to us to be heated.
03:32About the Sahara. And there is no discussion about its sovereignty over the Sahara. And there is no discussion about national unity.
03:40Morocco, as His Majesty King Mohammed VI reminded us, does not negotiate its Sahara or its territorial integrity.
03:46The Kingdom negotiates around a regional conflict with a neighboring country that disputes its sovereignty over its land.
03:52But the Sahara, the sovereignty of Morocco, and its territorial unity are built on the table of negotiations.
03:59Otherwise, the Moroccan Sahara will never and will never be the object of any compromise or concession, or even a discussion.
04:07Mr. de Mistura says that such ideas are rejected and are not finally proposed, and that Morocco will not and will not accept them until they start.
04:26Mr. de Mistura should have told us that he encouraged him to formulate these rejected ideas, because they go against the position of the principle of the Kingdom and the Moroccan people,
04:33for whom the Sahara is Moroccan and an integral part of the Kingdom.
04:39But what remains is that, as Mr. de Mistura has raised this issue, he should have mentioned who came up with this idea,
04:47what he was inspired by, and what the parties were.
04:52Also, Mr. de Mistura should have told us that they were the parties at the origin of this proposal and that they were their motivation.
04:59Certain parties that he was inspired to re-propose.
05:06And on this subject, for Zakaria Abou-Dahab, Professor of International Relations at the University of Mohamed V of Rabat,
05:12this idea of partition of the Sahara is simply a failure.
05:17Stéphane de Mistura, who did not move the lines in this case, it is the analysis of Zakaria Abou-Dahab that I suggest you listen to.
05:27I think, frankly, it is the sign of his diplomatic failure.
05:31Because he has not made things move in IOTA since his nomination as a personal envoy.
05:37He did a few tours, a few ships, but generally, we know, he still had a certain part taken,
05:43especially when he had visited South Africa.
05:46And that obviously made Morocco angry, which considered that this was a non-event.
05:51Therefore, I believe that his actions since the time he succeeded Mr. Heinz Kohler, the former personal envoy,
06:01did not really bring anything.
06:03There is, at the press level for some time, especially by the Reuters agency,
06:07which had leaked or leaked some information of this kind.
06:11But I would still like to emphasize here that the report that was presented by Mr. Guterres,
06:16which is false, does not mention this proposal at all.
06:19But the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs had said that the first time Mr. de Mistura had spoken about this,
06:26it was during his last visit in April 2024.
06:29Morocco rejected it categorically and with force.
06:32Well, it reminds us of an angry precedent this time, which had been proposed by the former Algerian president,
06:39Mr. Bouteflika, I think it was in 2002-2003, on the partition.
06:43And Morocco is clear, with a fundamental requirement, that this is something that cannot be negotiated.
06:49The territorial integrity of Morocco and the national unity suffer no concession.
06:55I believe, I will use a popular expression, that he is digging his own grave with his own hands.
07:01I believe that it will be undesirable in the future, if not the expression that we use in diplomacy,
07:08but I believe that in the end, with this idea, he comes out of his silence and reveals something
07:15that Morocco rejects categorically.
07:18And this will push us to ask ourselves the question,
07:21who will be the person who will succeed him in the context of this, unfortunately, a little morose context.
07:28But Morocco, if it does not persist, it advances imperturbably in the sense of strengthening its diplomatic position
07:36and in the case of sustainable development that the southern provinces know,
07:40obviously, I could conclude by saying that finally, this proposal is a non-event for us.
07:48In the rest of the news, there is still, and always, the war in Gaza.
07:52No respite for the Palestinian enclave, territory besieged by the Israeli army.
07:58It intensifies its strikes in the north, particularly in Jabalia,
08:03where no help has come in for several weeks now.
08:07On the spot, in addition to being cut off from the world, the inhabitants suffer from famine.
08:12For the United Kingdom, Israel makes this strategy a weapon of war, violent, thus international law.
08:21Meanwhile, in Lebanon, the Israeli army also wants to settle everything by force.
08:26The Lebanese National Information Agency reported Israeli air bombings,
08:32which took place recently, today, Tuesday, near the city of Tyre, in the south of the Cedar country,
08:38after a call to evacuate was issued by the Israeli army.
08:43It hit about 300 targets of Hezbollah yesterday,
08:47strikes near the Hariri hospital, the largest public establishment in the country.
08:53They killed at least four, including a child.
08:56It is said that a bunker of Hezbollah containing tens of millions of dollars was targeted,
09:00which categorically denies the director of the hospital.
09:06And it is in this context that the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken,
09:10is starting a new tour in Israel today, in the Middle East,
09:14to try to restart talks in view of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and thus contain regional escalation.
09:20Israel has, on its part, sworn to respond to the missile attack launched on its soil by Iran.
09:28It was October 1st last year.
09:30This is Antony Blinken's 11th trip to the Middle East since the beginning of the war.
09:43This is a high-security device that was deployed in Kazan, on the banks of the Volga.
09:52The reason? Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes, starting this Tuesday,
09:57about twenty foreign leaders, allies or partners, for the annual summit of the BRICS,
10:02the Alliance of Emerging Countries, which the Kremlin wants to see compete with the Western hegemony.
10:08Proof of the importance of this summit,
10:11the Russian President must meet for the first time since 2022
10:16with the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on the brink of this summit of the BRICS.
10:28The Ukrainian population has decreased by more than 10 million since the Russian invasion in February 2022,
10:36a decrease that caused an exodus but also a decrease in the fertility rate.
10:41According to the Regional Directorate of the United Nations Foundation for Population,
10:45this is the figure of the Ukrainian government.
10:47This decline would be linked to a combination of several factors.
10:51It explains that even before the escalation of the war,
10:54Ukraine was confronted with significant demographic challenges.
11:03Let's go straight to the presidential tour in the United States.
11:16Camilla Harris in the interview, Donald Trump with Latino voters.
11:22The White House candidates continue their election campaign at full speed,
11:2814 days from the presidential scrutiny.
11:33The 60-year-old candidate will hear a new TV interview on the NBC channel today.
11:39In addition to sending one of his most popular emissaries from his party, Barack Obama, to the field.
11:47Donald Trump continues to envenomate his rhetoric against migrants every day.
11:53He will participate in a roundtable with Latino voters from one of his real estate properties in Florida.
12:10And in this context, the Democratic candidate seeks to rally moderate conservatives
12:18in the company of the former Republican parliamentarian Liz Cheney,
12:24a fierce opponent of Donald Trump.
12:27The latter explained that her support for the vice president had not been a difficult choice to make.
12:40And for the elected leaders here, we know it is an...
12:54Back to Morocco with the 24th edition of the National Film Festival,
12:59which continues in Tangier in the north, at the Palace of Arts and Culture,
13:03with eminent figures from the world of 7th art until October 26th.
13:07So among yesterday's projections, the film in competition 404.01 by Younes Regab,
13:14but also the short film in competition, Brother of the Lich.
13:17I propose to listen to some reactions.
13:21A touch of science fiction, which we rarely have the opportunity to see in Moroccan films.
13:28But I always say, we are in the cinema, so we are in the audacity, in the adventure.
13:33This is what we would also like to see.
13:36Because I think there is also a diversification in this edition of this festival,
13:40because there are several genres.
13:42I noticed that there are also other directors who ventured on other grounds,
13:48rocky perhaps, but who are good.
13:51So it makes me happy to see that, in fact, Moroccan cinema diversifies,
13:57which will appeal to the public, which will also appeal to professionals in the field.
14:02And I think it's good.
14:04I explained that first, I only produce my own products,
14:09or films of young people with whom I can understand that there is a connection.
14:16Films, especially people who think they will make their first film,
14:21which will be international, universal.
14:24I want there to be a Moroccan hidden.
14:27A Moroccan hidden on the side of heritage,
14:31on the side of something that has another identity.
14:35That's my interest.
14:37And when Kenza offered me the subject, I was absolutely delighted,
14:41because I see a continuity of this work that I have done for 60 years,
14:47which is to do research on my personality, on Morocco and on this heritage.
14:53I came across a video of a historian on Fondreda A.
14:58He had taken a video in the same place that still exists.
15:01And it immediately caught my attention.
15:04I found it absolutely incredible as a symbol of support and female solidarity.
15:09And it's a place that we don't know much about.
15:11And so it was very important for me to make a film about it,
15:15to have my film take root in this place,
15:18to honour it and sublimate it through my short film.
15:26And I'm very lucky to have been selected in the official selection of the National Film Festival.
15:32It's the first time I'm showing it to the public.
15:37And it's a huge happiness,
15:40because I was also able to make this film thanks to the CCM Foundation.
15:45And so it was the best way to thank the National Film Festival.
15:53It's time for the guest of the big news.
15:55Review of the tax on income, or the TVA,
15:58or the implementation of tax incentives in favour of the representation of FIFA in Morocco.
16:04Today, I propose to you to explore the adoption process of the 2025 Finance Bill in Parliament.
16:11At 6 p.m., the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives
16:14will look at the new provisions proposed by the government.
16:18And the First Chamber has, you know, 30 days to make changes
16:23and make a statement on the PLF
16:25before the text is discussed by the councillors of the Second Chamber.
16:29To talk about it, I have the pleasure of welcoming live from Rabat,
16:33Mr. Hassan El Harafi,
16:35Professor of Public Finance at the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences of Rabat.
16:40Hello and welcome.
16:42Hello, Madam.
16:44So, let's start, if you don't mind, with the tax on income,
16:47with IR reductions and even exonerations,
16:50which are planned by the executive.
16:53Can you tell us about them?
16:58Indeed, among the fiscal measures adopted in the 2025 Finance Bill,
17:03there are specific measures for the tax on income.
17:06And we can already list seven measures that have been planned,
17:11including the re-development of the progressive IBAREM of the tax on income,
17:18the increase in the annual income of the tax on income reduction at the expense of taxes,
17:22the revision of the conditions for the exoneration of the indebtedness of internships,
17:28the improvement of the tax regime on income at the expense of foreign income,
17:34the creation of a new category of taxable income on IR,
17:39and the revision of the tax treatment of the purchase of complementary pensions in the quotations, of course,
17:44as well as the clarification of the principle of imposition of the financial profits carried out in the framework of the profession.
17:53So, these are, in a necessarily synthetic way, the seven main measures that have been adopted at the expense of IR.
18:00More specifically, I think that what interests the community of employees the most
18:06is the re-development of the progressive IBAREM of the tax on income.
18:11As you know, the IR reform is part of the continuity of the implementation of the Framework Law 69-17 on fiscal reform.
18:22We aim, in particular, to reduce the tax burden on taxpayers as the number of assets expands.
18:32What is a bit specific this year is that the re-development of the first phase of the IBAREM on income
18:40is exonerated and exceeded 30,000 and 40,000 dirhams,
18:47which will allow to exonerate all salaries below 6,000 dirhams per month.
18:53Also, the revision of the other sections of the IBAREM in order to enlarge them and reduce the tax rate,
18:59resulting in a reduction of this rate, going to 50%.
19:04As well as the reduction of the rate of marginal absence of the IBAREM, which I just mentioned earlier, from 38 to 37.
19:12In general, this is the first measure that the government intends to adopt through the PLF.
19:20If you have the time, yes.
19:22So, this state budget project also foresees the temporary exoneration of the TVA
19:28on the import operations of certain live animals and agricultural products.
19:32What is planned on this point?
19:35This is a measure that is part of the sustainability of purchasing powers.
19:41As everyone knows, the prices of red meat have reached a level that has become unsustainable
19:47for the large community of Moroccan consumers and households.
19:51This is the reason why the increase in the prices of certain food products
19:55has been observed in recent years, notably because of the hydric deficit,
20:00which has been due to drought, as a result of other conditions and external allies,
20:08and whose goal is to ensure a normal supply of the national market at reasonable prices.
20:14It is proposed through the PLF to introduce a temporary measure
20:18in order to exonerate the import operations of certain live animals.
20:23This exoneration, according to the PLF, concerns the live animals of bovine, ovine and capron species,
20:32the reproductive organs, the meat of the animals, and so on.
20:37Also, there is an increase in the minimum share of the TVA product.
20:46There is an exoneration on the TVA on import.
20:52As you know, there are two types of TVA, the internal TVA and the TVA on import.
20:57In order to deal with the intense demand for red meat,
21:01we must appeal to the external supply of red meat.
21:07I think this is a kind of tax stimulus granted to operators in this field
21:14in order to encourage them to import more red meat in order to support the domestic market.
21:21You are talking about tax stimulus, Professor Harafi.
21:25Now, with this decrease in the IR and this temporary exoneration of the TVA on certain products,
21:35could this combination be another stimulus and lead to an improvement in the purchasing power of the citizen,
21:43and in particular a stabilization of the prices of certain products of primary necessity?
21:49In principle, this is the basis of these measures.
21:52In principle, all governments are reluctant to reduce taxes
21:57because the state, when it wants to subsidize the purchasing power, has two possibilities.
22:05Either to exonerate what is called negative tax, or to give a subsidy.
22:09So the government has opted for the second choice.
22:14We opt to reduce the tax burden on wages, i.e. by introducing amendments at the level of progressive barriers to income tax.
22:30And I think this will have an impact on net income.
22:34This is quite normal.
22:36And also, when we support the supply of red meat by importing red meat from abroad,
22:48as you know, these are not tariffed products.
22:51These are products that are subject to the law of supply and demand, and the invisible hand, as we say.
22:57And so, if we try to regulate supply, it will impact demand, and it will impact purchasing power.
23:03What is the potential risk here is speculation.
23:07I mean, even with these measures, we had an experience that is not quite wonderful,
23:11on the occasion of Eid al-Adha,
23:13even though the state had granted exoneration for the importation of cattle and sheep,
23:24but the citizen did not actually feel a very significant impact of these fiscal measures on his pocket.
23:34So the prices have always remained in an unsustainable state for the household.
23:41This is why these measures are very encouraging.
23:45We can only applaud these measures,
23:49but we must plan support measures so that we do not fall into speculation maneuvers in order to avoid these exonerations.
23:58Okay. And what are the other main fiscal measures planned this year, Professor El Haddafi?
24:05Yes, of course, if you want, the fiscal measures that have been adopted by the Finance Law,
24:11we can group them into four measures.
24:16As I have just developed earlier, the measures specific to yesterday,
24:19the measures specific to the tax on added value,
24:22the measures specific to registration rights,
24:24and some common measures.
24:26I can recall them very quickly.
24:28First, the specific measures on the tax on added value,
24:32the temporary exoneration of the VAT, as I have just highlighted,
24:35and the increase of the minimum share of the VAT product,
24:38which has affected the budget of the territorial collectivity.
24:41Let me explain.
24:42If we have 110 VAT,
24:44there are 30 VAT that will always be affected,
24:48with a special allowance reserved to finance the development strategies of the territorial collectivities.
24:54This measure will allow,
24:57it has gone from 30% to 32%.
24:59This is among the measures to encourage the financial autonomy of the territorial collectivities
25:05so that they can face their development strategies,
25:09whether it is the Common Action Plan,
25:11the Regional Development Plans, and so on.
25:14Among the specific measures that have been adopted,
25:17in terms of registration rights,
25:19is the clarification of the tax treatment applicable to VAT,
25:24whose duration is greater than 10 years.
25:26There is the institution of the sanction applicable to professionals
25:29responsible for fulfilling the formality of registration.
25:33Also, the consecration of the exoneration of registration rights
25:36and the registration of free session operations of real estate.
25:41There are three measures, if you want me to remind you.
25:44It is the institution of a regime of tax incentives
25:47in favor of the representation of FIFA in Morocco.
25:50This is a measure to encourage investments in this area.
25:53Then there is the insertion.
25:55But there is a very, very important measure,
25:58and it has always been expected,
26:00it is the codification of tax credits.
26:02I think it takes a show to explain this element of tax credits in Morocco.
26:08But I think it is a measure that has always been expected
26:11because we have always considered tax credits as a tax iceberg,
26:15as a kind of beginning of use,
26:17that the fact of deciding to reintegrate them into the PLF,
26:22that is a sign of transparency,
26:24that is a sign that the government reaffirms its attachment
26:28to the principle of digital universality.
26:31One last question, Professor.
26:33If you don't mind, quickly.
26:35The decrease of the IRR is no longer globally included in the tax reform
26:39initiated by Morocco,
26:41which aims to reduce, especially tax pressure on taxpayers
26:45and achieve a certain tax equity.
26:48Where are we today with this reform?
26:51Quickly, if possible.
26:53Yes, as I just pointed out,
26:55this is a measure that is included,
26:57it is a measure that has been taken to rebuild the progressive Barem of the TBA
27:02and especially by focusing on the marginal sector
27:05and by trying to make a large part of the wage population benefit.
27:12It is already part of the implementation of the strategy,
27:16of the implementation of the framework law on tax reform.
27:20Today, taxes play a very important role in protecting purchasing power.
27:26I just said it.
27:27And so the state, it has the imperative to protect the purchasing power of citizens
27:34and the requirement to safeguard tax profitability.
27:38So when we grant an exoneration of this kind,
27:43it means that we want to expand, and to encourage above all,
27:47and this is very important,
27:49because it is a measure that also targets the informal sector,
27:54because most people want to escape tax
27:58because they consider that the last 30,000 dirhams was not enough.
28:02So now if we say that up to a salary of 56,000 dirhams you are exonerated,
28:09it will encourage the informal sector.
28:16Thank you very much, Professor, for answering our questions.
28:20Hassan El Harafi, Professor of Public Finance at the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences of Rabat.
28:31And thank you, this is the end of this news.