Taxes chase businessmen to recover 11,000 billion DZ

Finance and Budget Commission’s deputies at Parliament Monday called on finance minister Hadji Baba Ami to hold investors and businessmen accountable.

This comes as businessmen and investors in Algeria benefited from exemptions estimated at 150 billion DZ. Parliament members want the minister to hold them accountable for what they did to create an added value to national economy and reduce unemployment.

“It’s time for those to return the State’s favour. The finance minister and the government should find mechanisms to keep watch on those investors to create job opportunities,” they said.

Abdelkarim Mansouri, a member of the Commission, told Echorouk that his colleagues held a two-hour-meeting with the minister to discuss the budget settlement draft law 2014. They asked him to adopt a selective system to offer support to businessmen.

“Exemptions should be granted only to those who think for the country’s interest and return the favour by offering job opportunities. We called on the minister to find necessary mechanisms to assess investors’ performance. Ordinary people do not benefit from this money. Business men should return the favour,” he added.

He also said the minister Monday received remarks from the Commission about the budget settlement draft law 2014. He announced measures to recover 11,000 billion DZ which constitute taxes money held by businessmen, investors and even traders and professionals. He also promised to establish new procedures this year to collect taxes.

Mansouri believes that those new measures are part of the modernization of taxes system by providing it with technical and digital mechanisms. An electronic portal to collect taxes was launched in this regard.

He said the minister defended ministries which did not spend their money determined in annual budgets. 

Two days ago, the industry minister Abdesselam Bouchouareb said the government will offer support only to national businessmen who are for the country’s interests.