Morocco starts taxing web giants as digital economy takes off

Social media platforms such as Meta, X, Instagram, TikTok, Netflix, Spotify and Airbnb have transformed from simple entertainment and social connection tools into powerful economic machines that often evade traditional state control and regulation. For Morocco, this shift is now undeniable. On June 11, 2026, the country’s tax authority launched a dedicated platform to tax digital services, ending years of fiscal uncertainty.

Paul Romer, 2018 Nobel Prize winner in economics, laid the theoretical groundwork: technological progress is not accidental but stems from rational economic calculations. Social networks, born in research centres such as MIT, Harvard and Silicon Valley, perfectly illustrate this dynamic. They were designed, funded and deployed because actors saw profitability.

The numbers are striking. More than 36.5% of all time spent on the internet is now on social media. Nearly half of users use these platforms to stay in touch with loved ones (48.6%), while about a third pass time (37.3%) or seek news (34.6%). Behind these social uses lies an advertising windfall that accounts for roughly 85% of platform revenues, and it continues to grow.

Businesses worldwide have grasped the value of this showcase. Globally, 90% of companies using social media report positive returns. The influencer marketing market reached $16.4 billion in 2022, twenty times its 2015 level, fuelled by influencers with engagement rates as high as 96% — far above brand-published content.

Morocco is not on the sidelines of this revolution. With 23.8 million social media users (63.4% of the population), the country represents a substantial potential market. In January 2022, YouTube had roughly 21.5 million users, Facebook Messenger 8.35 million, and TikTok 5.97 million users aged 18 and over. These figures are not mere statistics; they represent communities and audiences that are goldmines of potential customers for internet entrepreneurs. As Mohcine Benachir, CEO of Prestige Informatique, put it: “Today we are increasingly facing a digital economy that is becoming a real issue in Morocco. Transactions taking place via social networks and their platforms are an undeniable economic reality. Any company wanting to grow must be present on these channels, which have become essential communication and commercialisation tools.”

Investment in digital advertising reflects this. Digital budgets now account for nearly 17% of companies’ marketing spend, according to the Digital Trends Morocco 2024 study. Social media ad purchases are the main tool, and the market is increasingly moving away from outsourcing. Yet, here lies the problem: this financial windfall largely escapes the national economy.

The fiscal paradox: giants that pay no tax

The reality is harsh. Local news websites are squeezed by tech giants Facebook and Google, which together control between 60% and 70% of the online advertising market. In 2022 alone, Google posted a net profit of $60 billion, mainly from online advertising. However, neither Google nor Facebook pay any taxes in Morocco.

“Social networks are indeed virtual in access, but they represent a real economy. The problem is that these digital giants are not based in Morocco, so we have no control and cannot negotiate with them,” a source noted. When a Moroccan company wants to advertise, it pays Meta in foreign currency — currency that leaves the kingdom and never returns. This creates a fiscal and monetary black hole with far-reaching consequences. In 2018, a special commission from the tax authority and the exchange office already examined the taxation of Gafam advertising revenues in Morocco, but since then, little changed.

Local players called for awareness. Mounir Jazouli, former president of GAM, warned about the need for local publishers to unite forces against the Gafam. “One of the key challenges is offering Moroccan advertisers effective technological platforms and services that can compete with those of the Gafam,” he explained. He also stressed the need to reinvent business models, for example by conditioning article access on viewing an ad video.

The turning point of June 2026: VAT on digital services

This fiscal vacuum ended on June 11, 2026, when the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) launched its “Taxation on Digital Services” platform via the SIMPL portal. Foreign digital service providers — Netflix, Spotify, Google, Meta, Airbnb, Uber and many others — must now declare their turnover generated in Morocco and pay the corresponding VAT. This measure stems from article 28 of decree 2-25-862 published in the Official Bulletin in December 2025. Providers must register on the platform to obtain a tax ID, file a quarterly turnover declaration by the end of the first month of each quarter, and maintain a detailed record of services provided, subject to tax authority inspection.

The DGI published a guide to assist operators with the new procedure. Beyond the technical aspects, this is a strong political and economic signal. Morocco joins around thirty countries that have chosen to tax digital giants, often following OECD recommendations. The stakes go beyond immediate tax revenue—estimated between 500 million and 1 billion dirhams. The real goal is to correct a historic competitive asymmetry. For years, Moroccan startups, local media and digital service providers were taxed from the first dirham, while tech giants enjoyed a de facto 20% competitive advantage. As Ouassim Driouchi, Telecoms and Innovation partner at BearingPoint, explained: “The entry into force of VAT on foreign digital services is not a Moroccan exception but a healthy and inevitable convergence towards OECD standards (BEPS action plan) and practices already in place in the EU (OSS one-stop shop) or South Africa. Beyond the tax revenue, the real issue is repairing a historic competitive imbalance. This reform is essential to protect local innovation and clean up economic competition on the Moroccan market.”

Sovereignty, foreign currency and business model challenges

Taxing the Gafam is not just about revenue. It touches on economic sovereignty and development models. Behind online advertising lie data, algorithms and consumption patterns that escape national regulators. Involving national players will also help stop the outflow of foreign currency spent on digital platforms. Today, every dirham spent on Facebook or Google advertising leaves the country without generating local wealth. By imposing VAT and requiring declarations, Morocco gives itself the means to recapture part of that added value.

Driouchi cautioned, however: “The law could remain ineffective without state-of-the-art technology infrastructure. To geolocate consumption, multiple data sources must be cross-referenced in real time and securely — IP addresses, +212 phone prefixes, bank BINs. This decree is a good opportunity for the state to lay the foundations of a ‘4.0’ tax administration capable of auditing invisible value flows using advanced data analysis and interoperability with banking and telecom ecosystems.”

The road remains long. Tech giants have the legal and financial means to challenge these new rules. The DGI platform alone will not solve the structural imbalance between local players with limited resources and global behemoths. As Mounir Jazouli stressed, Moroccan publishers must urgently pool their strengths to become a real force against the Gafam.