ALGIERS – Sunday, 05 November 2023 (APS) – The finance bill 2024 provides for a series of legislative measures mainly to preserve the citizens’ purchasing power through various tax provisions, to support investments and national economy and for the simplification and digitization of tax procedures.
The bill, presented Saturday by the minister Finance Laaziz Faid at the Committee on Finance and Budget at the People’s National Assembly (Lower House), proposes a temporary exemption from VAT, in the stages of production and wholesale and retail marketing, until 31 December 2024 for broiler chicken, turkey, table eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables which are locally produced, and dried vegetables and rice, locally produced or imported.
It also includes, as part of the measures meant to strengthen the purchasing power, the establishment of a flat-rate solidarity allowance for social categories without income, especially the heads of families, families, the elderly and people with specific needs.
The bill 2024 also proposes the opening of a special purpose account n° 302-154 named “Maintenance Allowance Fund,” through which the State pays such allowances to the beneficiaries and the Department of Justice will collect these amounts on debtors.
In housing, the bill proposes a 10% reduction, calculated based on the remaining rent to be paid, granted to AADL housing beneficiaries, who have honored the payment of 25% of the housing price and wish to settle the remaining costs in advance.
The bill introduces a Treasury’s covering of the interest during the deferred period and a 100% interest subsidy on loans granted by public banks, as part of the completion of the additional 50,000 rental housing units, for the year 2024.
In addition, an extension until 31 December 2025, instead of 31 July 2023, was proposed in relation to the deadline granted to public rental housing tenants wishing to own their houses to submit their purchase requests.
It further proposes that the National Housing Bank, instead of the National Housing Fund, will be responsible for financing public rental housing programmes, primary and secondary roads and various networks, in addition to direct aid and State contributions for housing.