Tunisia-Murad Hattab: Tunisia completely cut off its public finance deficit for first time since 2011

Financial risk specialist and economic expert Murad Hattab stated today, Thursday, May 23, 2024, that for the first time, Tunisia has eliminated the deficit in its public finances, and the state budget has recovered its balance.

Hattab confirmed in a statement to national radio that the Tunisian state budget had been consistently in deficit from 2011 to 2023. Nevertheless, this year, it displayed a month-to-month and quarterly recovery, achieving a surplus with resources surpassing expenditures.

Hattab stressed that the state’s resources in 2024 mostly came from collections, revealing that Tunisia depended on its resources without borrowing large amounts. He appreciated the important role of the Ministry of Finance, noting its success in fairly and equitably extracting taxes, which resulted in a general increase in state revenues by 12.8 percent.

He pointed out that the state’s resources in 2024 will primarily come from collections amounting to 11 billion dinars, an important sum required for the country’s annual investments.

The financial risk expert concluded that Tunisia’s current situation is extremely positive and that the recovery will be sustained in the coming years.