The main changes introduced by the Finance Act for 2018, provided for by Act No. 66/2017 of 18 December 2017, mainly concern:
Corporate tax and personal income tax (IRPP)
- Measures to support SMEs
- Subjecting mutual insurance companies to corporate tax
- Increasing the advance on tax due on imports of consumable products from 10% to 15% for 2018 and 2019
- Increasing the withholding-tax rate from 5% to 10% on distributed dividends
- Introduction of an exceptional tax for the State budget for 2018 and 2019
- Introduction of a solidarity social contribution
- Granting a tax allowance to civil servants of the State, local authorities and administrative public enterprises during 2018
- Widening the scope of the 35% corporate tax rate
- Increasing family deductions
- Revision of the flat-rate taxation regime for individuals
- Encouraging long- and medium-term saving
- Introduction of a stay duty in tourist establishments
- Increasing the withholding tax on interest on loans paid to banks not established in Tunisia from 5% to 10%
- Exempting income from games of chance organised by public enterprises
VAT, customs duties and local tax (TCL)
- Suspension of consumption duty on imports of tourism-sector vehicles
- New tariffs to control the trade-balance deficit
- Revision of VAT rates
- Revision of consumption duties
- Exceptional tariff on a list of imported products of Turkish origin
- Continuing the widening of the VAT scope
- Introduction of a 1,000-dinar-per-tonne export duty on used vegetable oils
- Strengthening the resources of the fund for promoting packaged olive oil
- Rationalising the monitoring of VAT tax benefits
Registration and stamp duty
- Clarifying the tax regime for registration duty on agreements with consideration similar to public contracts and concessions
- Rationalising tax benefits on donations of real estate and business assets between ascendants, descendants and spouses
- Revision of fixed registration and stamp duty rates
- Updating the single tax on insurance
Investment incentives
- Encouraging business creation
- Encouraging the recruitment of higher-education graduates
- Unifying the tax regime of companies located in regional development zones
- Rationalising the benefit of tax incentives for capital subscription
- Simplifying the conditions for benefiting from tax incentives for financial reinvestment
Other provisions
- Creation of a fund to compensate agricultural damage caused by bad weather
- Strengthening the resources of the fund to promote the competitiveness of agriculture and fishing
- Requiring participants in public contracts, tenders and public-private partnerships to file due declarations at least 20 days before the bid-reception deadline
- Anti-smuggling procedures
- Creation of a general authority for taxation, public accounting and collection
- Giving more flexibility in the disposal of seized assets
- Support for Tunisian print-press companies
