As Moroccan lawyers saga nears resolution, professionals remain divided over agreement with government

For months now, Moroccan lawyers have been in conflict with the government over new fiscal policies for their profession.

The initial deadlock saw lawyers halt all activity for nearly a month now, in protest of the government’s decision to have the liberal professionals pay their taxes ahead of the end of the year, which will be deduced through a direct state collection at the source.

What started as lawyers uniting against the new finance bill for 2023 has now grown into a conflict between regional bar representatives, with Rabat and Casablanca bar association members disagreeing on the terms of the agreement with the government.

The attorneys’ demands

The Moroccan Bar Association (ABAM), in addition to the Casablanca and Rabat bar associations all called for protests, strikes, and sit-ins last month, despite reaching an agreement with the government, which they judge to be incomplete.

The tax issue is not the only point of contention that explains the prolongation of the lawyers’ protests.

The professionals also continue to express their rejection of a draft law on the profession, developed by the Ministry of Justice, which was leaked last months amidst the fiscal policy disapproval.

Moroccan lawyers are protesting a general sense of alienation from the Ministry, who they say is issuing a number of decisions pertaining to their profession without initiating dialogue with unions and bar associations.

The government, however, is maintaining that these measures have been decided to counter lawyers’ staggering tax evasion.

A decision to protect state fiscal resources

Faouzi Lekjaa, Minister Delegate in Charge of the Budget, said that more than half of practicing lawyers in Morocco don’t pay taxes.

“The lawyers registered with the tax authorities amount to 8,837, while the number of lawyers in the country is about 16,000″, said the government official.

The number of lawyers who declare their income to tax authorities is a mere 6,600, while the number of those who contribute to the tax is 5,788, revealed the minister before the Finance Committee in the House of Councillors.

The Minister also said that 90% of lawyers who contribute to the payment of taxes pay less than MAD 10,000 per year.

To Lekjaa, excluding lawyers from at-source tax reduction is unfair to the approximate 66,000 employees in Morocco whose income tax is deducted at source before they receive their salary, in addition to the fact that retirees pay income tax twice: while they work and after they retire.

Although Moroccans’ lives have been affected by the judicial life halt, the executive seems to be adamant. And despite opening the door for amendments to the Finance Bill for 2023, they are maintaining the source deduction.

The executive’s determination seems to have gotten to some lawyers, while others are maintaining their position.

Internal divides arise

The Casablanca Bar Association yesterday decided the resumption of activity, after weeks of protest and strike.

Prior to the internal announcement communicated to Hespress EN, lawyers within the association were asked to refrain from speaking to the press, our sources say.

In fact, the country’s largest bar association is divided.

A number of lawyers in Casablanca expressed their desire to resume activity in courts, especially in light of the government’s response to the demands, which were welcomed by the majority of their colleagues in other bodies.

Lawyers told Hespress EN that most of the professionals’ demands have been fulfilled by the government, rendering strikes useless at this time.

The lawyers said that they are expecting the draft finance law to be ratified and that the protests have fulfilled their purpose.

However, other lawyers are still defending the need to continue protesting against the government, calling for the full abolition of the new procedures introduced by the 2023 Finance Bill in relation to their profession.

With the official decision being to resume all activity after the head of the Casablanca bar met with Minister of Justice Abdelatif Ouahbi, some lawyers who spoke to Hespress EN maintain that they are ready to get back to the streets if the government’s future decisions are not up-to-par.