Tunisian MPs Criticize 2026 State Budget for Relying Heavily on Taxation
Tunisian deputies from various parliamentary blocs expressed their disappointment with the 2026 state budget on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, stating that it is merely a reproduction of previous budgets, relying primarily on taxation.
Repetitive Budget with No Concrete Solutions
During a joint plenary session organized by the Assembly of the People's Representatives (ARP) and the National Council of Regions and Districts (CNRD) to discuss the budget of the Ministry of Finance's mission for 2026, MP Nouri Jreidi from the "For the People to Triumph" bloc stated that the budget reiterates a series of empty slogans copied from previous years, with only numerical modifications.
According to Jreidi, the 2026 budget relies 90% on taxation, with increased borrowing. It also aims to reduce the role of the Central Bank of Tunisia without proposing concrete solutions to combat the rent economy.
Criticisms and Calls for Reform
Jreidi criticized the budget for injecting billions of dollars into failing public enterprises and institutions without reform programs, while planning a five-year development plan (2026-2030) that includes local and regional projects that even the strongest economies cannot finance.
He called for changing the currency to contain the parallel economy, abolishing the licensing system, immediately restructuring ports, and re-examining "doubtful" debts. Jreidi also emphasized the need to accelerate the adoption of projects related to exchange codes, investment, hydrocarbons, customs, and water, while highlighting the importance of establishing the Tunisian Postal Bank and encouraging the diaspora to invest.
Need for Real Reform and Political Courage
MP Salah Sayadi from the "Amana wa Aamal" (Honesty and Work) bloc recognized that the 2026 budget, like previous ones, is limited to numbers primarily based on taxation (90%). He stated that real will and political courage are necessary to implement major reforms.
Sayadi called for establishing tax justice, improving public debt management, controlling expenses, and directing them towards investment. He also advocated for simplifying tax revision procedures, strengthening the role of amicable settlement of tax disputes, and accelerating the digitization of tax, customs, and accounting systems.
Absence of Measures to Integrate the Informal Economy
Independent MP Abdelhalim Boussema observed that the sources of budget financing and the causes of the deficit remain unchanged. He criticized the reliance on taxation exceeding 90%, which puts pressure on businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the pillars of the national economy.
Boussema highlighted that the parallel economy, representing over 50% of economic activity, remains outside the official circuit without concrete measures to integrate it and benefit from its contribution to growth and wealth creation.
Urgent Need for Structural Reforms
Independent MP Badreddine Gammoudi warned against excessive dependence on taxation, emphasizing that the tax model has remained unchanged since the 1990s. This situation is worrying for the national economy and the sustainability of state revenues.
Gammoudi noted the absence of vision regarding the mobilization of non-tax state revenues, despite the "self-reliance" policy, and questioned the fate of revenues from confiscated assets, state lands, hydrocarbon production sold to the Tunisian Petroleum Activities Company at preferential prices, and public-private partnerships.
According to Gammoudi, continuing this "rigid" approach will exacerbate the lack of tax justice and lead to inefficient management of non-tax resources.
