Morocco Exempts Newly Created Industrial Companies from Corporation Tax

Industrial companies created after June 2017 will be exempted from paying the corporation tax, authorities said.

A decree was published in the official gazette stating that industrial enterprises will not have to pay the tax for five years after their creation as the government seeks to encourage industrial investments.

The tax exemption is targeting enterprises operating in 26 industrial sectors.

The industrial acceleration plan was introduced in 2014 with the aim to bring the sector’s contribution to GDP from 14% in 2014 to 23% by 2020. It is based on the development of “ecosystems”, or productive industrial clusters, aimed at stimulating growth and enhancing competition of the sector’s various components.

This approach is meant to facilitate technology transfers as well as further business integration to improve quality and productivity.

Thanks to this plan, Morocco created clusters in the car industry and aeronautics, attracting investments by car giants such as Renault and Peugeot along with leading car-part suppliers. The same can be said about aeronautics with investments from Bombardier, Latisma, Alcoa and Stelia.

The same plan provides for the creation of 500,000 jobs in the industrial sector by 2020. Up to 2017, 280,000 jobs have already been created, officials say.