HIBAPRESS.
Nizar Baraka, Minister of Equipment and Water, came out to clarify the controversy raised by the opposition regarding the cost of supporting the import of sacrificial animals, denying that he had ever stated the figure of 13 billion dirhams as direct government support.
During his hosting on the program "Hour of Truth" broadcast by the second channel on Wednesday evening, Baraka explained that this number did not come from him personally, but rather appeared in a technical document presented by the Ministry of Finance to the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives, pointing out that the whole problem lies in the confusion between two completely different concepts: direct financial support on the one hand, and tax expenditures on the other hand. The minister explained that the amount of 13 billion dirhams was not spent in cash from the state budget, but is a composite number that combines two parts: the first is direct support given to importers to maintain price stability, and the second is exemptions from customs duties and value-added tax, i.e. revenues waived by the state to facilitate the import process, not money actually spent. Baraka concluded with a fundamental observation, which is that these tax revenues that were "left" to the importers would not have existed at all in the absence of the decision to open the door to import, and therefore presenting them as a direct loss of public money lacks accuracy in understanding the mechanisms of tax expenditures. In this way, the Secretary-General of the Istiqlal Party has confirmed that the actual direct support did not exceed 437 million dirhams, which is the number officially announced by the government, while the figure of 13 billion promoted by the opposition includes amounts that cannot be considered government spending in the true sense.
