Tunisia: Cabinet meeting reviews key directions for 2026 Finance Law and State Budget
Tunis – A Cabinet meeting was held on Wednesday at the Government Palace in Kasbah, chaired by Prime Minister Sara Zaafrani Zenzri, to review the main outlines of the 2026 Finance Law and State Budget.
In her opening remarks, the Prime Minister emphasised that the 2026 Finance Law must embody a strategic vision, serving as a tool to implement public policies under the state's economic and social programme.
This programme aims to balance economic growth and social justice, aligning with the 2026-2030 Development Plan, which will reflect the will of the people.
According to a statement from the Prime Ministry, she stressed that national choices are the only way to meet people's expectations, particularly by revising a number of laws relating to taxation and social justice, and by reopening public sector recruitment to address unemployment.
The Prime Minister underscored the need for a new approach in drafting the 2026 Finance Law, one that moves beyond temporary fixes and half-measures. Instead, it should reflect the state's vision which consists in strengthening the foundations of the social state, while ensuring fiscal justice and social equity, boosting purchasing power, balancing economic growth with social justice and increasing the rate of economic growth by stimulating investment and establishing an appropriate social and economic framework for the construction and building phase.
She also highlighted that all state's economic policies must adhere to core principles, including preserving national sovereignty and independent decision-making, self-reliance.
At the same time, the state must remain open to Tunisia's regional and international environment in order to support and consolidate national decisions regarding the social role of the state and the promotion of local, regional, and territorial development, she was quoted as saying in the same statement.
The Cabinet meeting outlined the following priorities for the 2026 budget:
- Strengthening the Social State through expanding support for vulnerable and low-income groups, while promoting economic empowerment mechanisms that benefit these groups in particular, in order to improve living conditions.
- Developing the state's own resources by pursuing a policy of self-reliance, reducing tax evasion, integrating the informal economy, and diversifying sources of state budget financing, in line with a new vision.
- Promoting employment, improving living standards and strengthening the social protection system, while valuing human capital. This can be achieved by developing social policies to promote social justice, adopting measures to maintain the purchasing power of vulnerable and middle-income groups and providing greater social support for vulnerable groups, as well as guidance and support for business start-ups.
- Implementing measures to improve income, strengthen economic and social integration mechanisms, create jobs, provide decent working conditions, eliminate precarious employment, facilitate access to housing, strengthen social cohesion, improve all public services and develop the social security and coverage system.
- Promoting investment within the framework of a comprehensive approach based on liberalising entrepreneurship and improving the business climate so that public investment drives private investment and raises the pace of economic growth.
- Investing in regional development programmes based on constitutional principles will drive development in the regions. This approach will contribute to the formulation of regional priorities, starting with programme and project proposals at the local council level and progressing through the regional and district councils to the national level.
On this basis, the development plan for the 2026–30 period will be prepared. Development-related expenditure is a key lever for stimulating economic growth and attracting private investment, particularly at regional and district levels.
- Accelerating interconnectivity and making the digital transformation of the administration a tool for modernising the administration, ensuring transparency, facilitating transactions and opening up prospects for supporting the digital economy.
During the Cabinet meeting, it was emphasised that this draft is based on a set of principles aimed at strengthening the pillars of the social state, maintaining financial balance, and improving the efficiency of public performance in various sectors.
The most important basic principles include simplifying procedures for Tunisians abroad, supporting the financing of start-ups and communitarian enterprises and financing companies active in the green, blue and circular economy sectors.
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