Review Of Fuel Prices And Raising The Wealth Tax Next Monday Before The Deputies

The Finance and Budget Committee of the People’s National Assembly has completed the preparation of the supplementary report for the Draft Finance Law for the year 2027, in preparation for presenting it for a vote in the plenary session scheduled for next Monday, following the study of five amendments referred by the Bureau of the Assembly and listening to their sponsors, as the committee held onto its amended version of Article 218 related to the review of fuel prices, which had previously proposed subjecting any price review to parliamentary approval. On the other hand, the author of the amendment insisted on striking down the article completely, despite the committee’s rejection of the proposal, to be referred to the deputies for a final decision by vote, while the committee rejected other amendments, including a proposal to raise the wealth tax from 1 to 2%, and an amendment to cancel the increase in stamp duties imposed on the remote renewal of biometric passports for the benefit of members of the national community abroad. According to what “Echorouk” learned from the committee, the latter held a meeting dedicated to studying the five amendments referred by the Bureau of the Assembly regarding the Draft Finance Law for the year 2027, where it listened to the sponsors of the proposals and discussed the justifications provided, before deciding the fate of each amendment, whether by convincing its sponsors to withdraw it or rejecting it, or maintaining it and including it in the supplementary report to be presented to the deputies during the voting session. Foremost among the amendments that dominated the discussion was Article 218 related to the review of fuel prices, which saw the presentation of two different proposals. The first called for setting the increase at 2% and linking it to the price of a barrel of oil, but its author withdrew the amendment after being convinced by the justifications and clarifications provided by the committee, while the author of the second amendment held onto the proposal to cancel the article entirely, despite the committee’s rejection of it, which means including it in the supplementary report and referring it to the plenary session for a decision by vote. On the other hand, the committee discussed a proposal regarding the addition of a new Article 37 bis, involving a 500 Algerian Dinars increase in the stamp duty applied to the remote renewal of biometric passports for the benefit of members of the national community residing abroad, where a deputy for the community called for dropping this measure. However, the committee rejected the proposal, basing its position on the provisions of Article 147 of the Constitution, which prevents the acceptance of bill proposals and amendments that would reduce public resources or increase public expenditures, unless accompanied by compensatory measures that ensure the provision of alternative revenues or coverage of additional burdens. The rejection was not limited to the amendment related to stamp duties, as the committee also shot down a proposal aimed at raising the wealth tax rate from 1% to 2%, justifying its position by stating that approving an additional increase in this tax might lead, in its estimation, to expanding the scope of tax evasion rather than achieving the desired increase in tax revenues, making maintaining the current rate the choice adopted by the committee. In a related context, the voting session on the Draft Finance Law for the year 2027, scheduled for Monday, November 16, is expected to see the application of the provisions of Article 97 of Organic Law No. 16-12, regarding the organization of the People’s National Assembly and the Council of the Nation and their functioning, and the functional relations between them and the government, in accordance with the relevant provisions in the internal regulations of the People’s National Assembly. This mechanism stipulates that priority, during the voting process, be given to the amendment of the specialized committee, whether contained in its preliminary or supplementary report, in the absence of an amendment submitted by the government or the author of the bill proposal or the delegate of the bill proposal sponsors. This procedure will determine the order of voting on the presented amendments and give the committee’s proposal priority in cases specified by the legal text.