Tunis - Prime Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri stressed the importance of including innovative financing mechanisms, based on new approaches, in the 2026 Finance Bill, in light of efforts to open new public sector recruitments and implement significant reforms in several sectors, including health, education, and schooling.

Zaafrani made this recommendation while chairing, on Tuesday at the Government Palace in Kasbah, a Cabinet meeting discussing the programmes and measures related to the tax and financial provisions proposed in the 2026 Finance Bill.

She further emphasised that these new mechanisms would help address economic changes and global geopolitical pressures through rationalising expenditures and stimulating growth.

The Prime Minister highlighted the need to steer the programmes and measures proposed in the 2026 Finance Bill toward balancing social justice with economic growth while strengthening the foundations of the social state, by focusing on vulnerable and low-income groups and promoting their economic integration to improve living conditions and develop public services.

According to a statement from the Prime Ministry, the 2026 Finance Bill "fits within the framework of achieving the objectives of the 2026-2030 Development Plan, which derives from the will and proposals of the people for developmental projects.

This is while using a progressive approach starting from the local level, to the regional, to the district and then national, in line with the vision of President Kais Saied, and based on constitutional principles aimed at establishing comprehensive and equitable development."

The tax and financial provisions proposed in the 2026 Finance Bill, as reviewed by the Cabinet, aim "to reform the tax system by establishing a taxation framework that ensures tax justice, reduces disparities among social groups and supports the purchasing power of individuals, particularly middle- and low-income groups."

The bill focuses on "boosting investment and assisting economic enterprises by reducing the tax burden on their acquisitions and facilitating access to financing under favorable conditions."

It also aims to "further diversify funding sources for social funds to establish a sustainable and comprehensive social coverage system."

The state will enhance the governance of social safety programmes by rationalising interventions to ensure their effectiveness, better meet the needs of target groups, provide training, qualification, and employment opportunities, and promote economic and social integration, thereby offering permanent solutions rather than merely granting financial aid.

The bill also targets public health by strengthening health services, promoting prevention and health security, ensuring comprehensive access to basic health services, and supporting food and water security through developing agricultural production and aquaculture to preserve fishery resources and ensure sustainable water management.

Educational reform will be supported through financing diagnostics of the educational system, designing alternative programmes and curricula and preparing educational spaces to achieve reform objectives.

The bill also aims to support the energy and ecological transition by encouraging the use of renewable energy and promoting the manufacture of electricity storage equipment.

Provisions are included to facilitate the transition from the informal to the formal sector by encouraging participants in the informal economy to join the formal sector through a special legal framework that simplifies administrative procedures, digitises processes, eases tax obligations and facilitates access to social security services.

The state seeks to combat tax evasion and integrate the informal sector by ensuring financial transaction transparency, promoting electronic payment methods to reduce cash transactions, combating parallel trade, and supporting the formal economy.

Non-tax state revenues will be enhanced, and public projects supported by reviewing the taxation of certain public enterprises to reduce their tax burden amid structural challenges.

Key pillars of the 2026 Finance Bill include employment and reducing unemployment, through new public sector recruitments in 2026, combating precarious employment, preventing outsourcing, supporting decent work, social protection, assisting vulnerable groups and low-income households, promoting economic integration, and improving living conditions.

Other priorities include improving the quality and accessibility of public services, especially in transport, health, and education; promoting public investment with equitable development based on local, regional, and provincial council inputs in preparing the 2026-2030 Development Plan, which will drive private investment; supporting investment in renewable energy; and integrating the informal sector.

In conclusion, the Prime Minister underscored the need to balance economic growth with social justice by encouraging investment and building an appropriate social and economic framework for the construction and building phase.

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