It is time to put in place or reactivate all the mechanisms aimed at establishing a transparent and fair control regime for all economic operators. Among these measures thrown into oblivion, cash registers. Their commissioning, scheduled for January 2016, had been postponed to June. And since then, we don’t hear about it anymore.
In the beginning, we started with about thirty boxes in the trial phase and then extended it to a few hundred. But the project seems relegated to the background, waiting for better days. It must be said that the obligation to equip these boxes is commonplace in developed countries. That is to say those who want clean and transparent business practices vis-à-vis, in particular, the authorities and the tax authorities.
Tax fairness
This project was not the only one. We had also programmed to introduce more tax justice, by involving the liberal professions (lawyers, doctors, engineers, architects, flat-rate cafés, etc.) in a fairer tax system. But, it seems that the reluctance of the parties concerned has prevailed. The authorities would have quickly backtracked. For the time being, only employees really pay their taxes in the greatest transparency, while many other sectors escape control and strengthen the ranks of those who engage in fraud and tax evasion.
According to official data dating from 2016 (when we tried to tackle the scourge of tax evasion), there are more than 2.7 million employees who pay nearly one-tenth of the state budget. On the other hand, in 2015, of the 7,400 lawyers (to take only this category), at least 3,000 did not have a tax ID. The government spokesperson at the time specified that this professional category declared 10.8 million dinars, the equivalent of 124 dinars in monthly taxes/lawyer. Drawing a parallel with a university professor, the tax is 500 dinars. When we know that these offenses are costly to our economy, we understand the need for the authorities to react and accelerate their policy to fight against these practices.
It will be recalled that it was the current Minister of Finance (then Director General at the Ministry of Finance) who herself presented this project at a meeting of the Joint Commission on Financial Transparency and Open Governance.
Our newspaper has tackled this subject on several occasions and noted the obstacles that stood in the way of the realization of such an experiment, which is altogether beneficial for our country. We have constantly asked for a report on the steps taken in this context. Where are we today ? What has been done to remove the last doubts of professionals? Have the authorities completely given up?
Tax transparency
Many questions remain unanswered and await a real policy in the sense of the establishment of a reliable and modern economic control system. Cash registers, in fact, are only one link in a long chain of measures to be taken for the establishment of good governance. The use of these machines, particularly in cafes and restaurants, will have the merit of facilitating the work of professionals and tax authorities. Indeed, the use of these funds is part of the implementation of a tax system for electronic invoicing monitoring to process financial, tax and statistical information in real time and with precision. You have to imagine the scope of such a measure if it were to materialize. More than 50,000 cafes and restaurants would then be affected. It is estimated, also, to nearly 130,000 people who exercise in this sector. Six years later, it would be good to review this component and find the most practical ways to achieve it through coordination work with the various partners. The concern to preserve the law of the State and the interests of professionals must prevail.
