HIBAPRESS – Rabat
The Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, refuted today, Monday, in the House of Representatives, what he described as fallacies promoted by some political parties regarding the bankruptcy of small and medium-sized enterprises, stressing that the reading of the economic reality must be based on official data, not on partial impressions.
During his comments on the interventions of the deputies, Akhannouch stressed that focusing only on closure cases reflects "looking at the empty part of the glass," explaining that the data from the tax register shows an increase in the number of active companies with legal personality from 440,000 in 2021 to more than 600,000 in 2024, which reflects a real dynamic in the national entrepreneurial fabric. The Head of Government added that the number of natural persons has also seen a remarkable development, increasing from 1.25 million in 2021 to 1.45 million in 2024, considering that these figures are a clear indication of the growing spirit of initiative among small entrepreneurs and self-employed entrepreneurs. Akhannouch cited figures issued by the Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property, indicating the establishment of 93,000 companies in 2023 and 95,000 companies during 2024, in addition to the establishment of more than 81,000 companies by September 2025, an increase of 18% compared to the same period last year. Regarding closures, the Head of Government explained that their number did not exceed 9,200 companies in 2023 and 9,900 companies in 2024, i.e., only about 10% compared to the number of established companies, pointing out that part of these closures is related to the repercussions of the Covid pandemic and successive global crises, which affected the ability of some small companies to withstand. He also highlighted that the implementation of tax reform and transparency standards revealed the existence of a large number of inactive companies that had not engaged in any actual activity for years and were used in illegal practices such as selling invoices and tax evasion, where more than 296,000 companies were registered in this category, which explains an important part of the closure figures. Akhannouch pointed to the adoption of a simplified procedure that allows companies wishing to permanently cease operations to exit the system in a legal way in exchange for paying a lump sum, without future tax consequences, stressing that this mechanism technically increased closures, but, in return, contributed economically to the purification of the entrepreneurial fabric. The Head of Government concluded by emphasizing that these measures enabled the fight against tax evasion, and strengthened the credibility of the tax system, which reflected positively on the number of active companies, improved tax revenues, and created more sustainable and quality job opportunities.
