Disagreements Persist Over Key Articles in 2026 Budget Law
On the eve of the joint plenary session scheduled for Wednesday to conclude the examination of the 2026 budget law, the joint committee bringing together the Assembly of People's Representatives and the Council of Regions and Districts has failed to resolve differences over several key articles of the bill. Members of both chambers are set to meet on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at 11 am at the Assembly's headquarters, as the committee has not reached an agreement within the legal timeframe. The joint committee, which completed the study of amendments to the disputed articles on Tuesday, remains divided over articles 82, 102, 103, and 110, as well as article 25 and an additional article related to support for patients with muscular dystrophy.
Persistent Disagreements Over Five Central Articles
The disputed articles include:
- Article 82, related to the regularization of seized movable property placed in municipal deposits
- The method of calculating the retirement regime for deputies (articles 102 and 103), a point on which deputies wish to unify the system between the two chambers
- Article 25, concerning the reduction of customs duties on imported solar panels
- An additional article, proposed by the Council of Regions and Districts, aiming to grant an allowance to individuals with muscular dystrophy
- Article 110, deemed "formal," setting the entry into force of the law on January 1, 2026
Regarding article 25, the government proposes to reduce customs duties on solar panels from 30% to 15%, while representatives of the regions and districts support an intermediate rate of 20%, which was previously approved. The committee heard from the Minister of Finance, Mechkat Salama Khaldi, and the Secretary of State for Energy Transition, Wael Chouchane, who argued for the adoption of the 15% reduction, ensuring that it would not affect the profitability of the two Tunisian solar panel manufacturers already benefiting from tax advantages.
Lines of Fracture
Representatives of the regions and districts insisted on the need to adopt article 82, which provides for the total exemption of penalties and taxes for owners of municipal property seized in the event of a final judgment in their favor. The issue of the retirement regime for deputies remains a major point of contention: members of the Assembly of People's Representatives demand the unification of systems so that it applies to both chambers, a position strongly defended by the representatives of the Assembly within the committee. The Council of Regions also maintained its support for granting an allowance to patients with muscular dystrophy, arguing that it would facilitate access to treatment. The Minister of Finance opposes this within the framework of the budget law, citing the need for "equal treatment" among all patients with specific needs and calling for the integration of such measures into regulatory texts, not the budget law.
On another level, the committee also failed to decide on article 110, which provides for the entry into force of the law on January 1, 2026. A disagreement persists over the question of inserting a mention related to article 56, concerning the gradual reduction of the tax burden on retirement pensions, and article 61, related to the Fund for Encouraging Cinematographic and Audiovisual Investment, with a postponement of their application to 2027. No compromise having been found, the joint plenary session on Wednesday will have to examine the version adopted by the Assembly of People's Representatives alone, before its transmission to the President of the Republic.
