Tunisia: Lawmakers slam the 2015 supplementary finance bill
Tunisian lawmakers have criticized at a plenary session the 2015 supplementary finance bill saying that is does not match the aspirations of the Tunisian people.
While the majority of Tunisian lawmakers threw their support behind the anti-terrorist bill last week, the MPs were very critical of the supplementary finance bill discussed at a parliamentary plenary session. The lawmakers disapproved the measures that ignore important sectors contributing to the majority of Tunisians’ livelihood, namely agriculture, official press agency reported on Tuesday.
They said the draft law does not include structural and tax reforms likely to alleviate the tax burden on employees nor reforms intended to fight smuggling and parallel trade, calling for bold measures to address smuggling and reforming the customs system.
The MPs panned the bill for having been draft without prior earnest consultation with the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) and the National Tax Board (CNF.)
The budget does not have a clear vision and does not reflect an economic program of a stable government, the news agency quoted some MPs as saying.
Furthermore, lawmakers noted that the finance bill does not contain measures for needy groups and called for the establishment of a climate conducive to private investment and entrepreneurship. They likewise called for speeding up the organization of a national economic debate to discuss means of addressing the current slow progress.
Tunisia is coming out a difficult political period after the long reign of former ruler Ben Ali. Many people and figures are accused of corruption and money embezzlement. The society is economically uneven with millions of Tunisian still striving to make it.
Lawmakers proposed the induction of wealth tax.
The Tunisian President recently instructed the lawmakers to consider clemency for Tunisians who are ready to return ill attained wealth saying that Tunisia needs everyone to build a strong and prosperous country.
