VZCZCXYZ0024
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #1836/01 3471718
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131718Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7877
INFO RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA PRIORITY 3744

UNCLAS RABAT 001836 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA, NEA/MAG, NEA-SA/EX, A/OS AND L 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASCH AMGT EFIN PREL MO
SUBJECT: HELPING AMERICAN SCHOOLS 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified - entire text.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST:  In recent weeks, the 
clock has run out on the Embassy's eight-year attempt to 
secure an agreement with the Government of Morocco (GOM) to 
gain formal status and tax advantages for the five American 
schools in Morocco.  Though the GOM has not yet provided a 
formal response to our July draft agreement, recent 
enforcement actions by the Moroccan tax office and informal 
comments from officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
make clear that Morocco will not agree to anything that goes 
beyond existing provisions in Moroccan tax law and Moroccan 
legislation governing private educational institutions. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Given this rebuff, post urgently requests 
Department assistance in thinking of how we can "push the 
envelope" to find solutions to help the schools.  One 
possibility suggested by MFA officials is that of granting 
official status to expatriate teachers.  END SUMMARY AND 
ACTION REQUEST. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Background:  The five American schools in Morocco 
have different histories and have adopted different 
approaches with regard to the Moroccan government.  The 
American School of Tangier was created in 1950 and is 
registered in the United States as a non-profit institution, 
but has no independent legal identity in Morocco.  It has 
paid income tax for its employees since the levy was 
introduced, but has never been obliged to pay the corporate 
income tax.  The Rabat and Casablanca American Schools were 
created in 1962 and 1973, respectively, and also have no 
formal status in Morocco beyond "agrement" from the Ministry 
of Education.  While they have paid local taxes and 
Casablanca did start paying the "patente" (or business 
registration tax) in 1993, they have never paid income tax or 
corporate income tax, and were not requested to do so until 
¶1999.  The more recently created George Washington Academy 
(GWA) in Casablanca was founded in 1998 and operates through 
a formally registered Moroccan foundation.  The school leases 
its buildings from a for-profit subsidiary, which GWA created 
and owns so that it could benefit from Moroccan investment 
incentives for such companies.  The school has paid income 
tax for its employees, but has never been asked to pay 
corporate income tax, though even associations must pay a 
minimal rate (0.5 percent) on their total annual revenues. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Issue Emerges:  Morocco has fitfully pursued 
collection actions against the schools since 1999, prompting 
the group to turn to the Embassy and support conclusion of a 
bilateral accord based on the 1999 model school agreement 
developed by the State Department.  While the search for an 
agreement continued, Morocco appeared to defer enforcement 
actions against the schools.  This occurred as recently as 
June 2007, when Ministry of Finance officials directed the 
Casablanca tax office to put off enforcement actions against 
the Casablanca American School.  The Embassy then delivered a 
draft proposal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other 
ministries at the end of July.  The draft, which was cleared 
by the Department, including L, was based on the 1999 
agreement and also included provisions based on the 
Ambassador's discussions with then Prime Minister Jettou 
regarding the absence of retroactive liability and a gradual 
phase-in of tax obligations for the schools.  After delivery, 
however, and despite our efforts to gain traction for the 
proposal in relevant Ministries (Foreign Affairs, Finance, 
and National Education), the proposal languished, and the MFA 
did not receive a formal response from any concerned office 
except Moroccan Customs. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Boom Drops:  Against this backdrop, the 
Casablanca tax office, we suspect energized by its discovery 
that the Casablanca American School had significant 
investment and financial assets in Moroccan financial 
institutions, pressed for action against the school.  We 
requested in early November that action again be deferred, as 
in the past, until conclusion of negotiations on an 
agreement, but the Ministry of Finance rebuffed us, stating 
clearly for the first time that an agreement would only cover 
the future, and that the schools remain liable for the past, 
in the same way as all other institutions in Morocco.  The 
Casablanca Tax Office then froze the school's accounts, 
compelling it to enter into negotiations with the tax office 
that ultimately culminated in an agreement that will see it 
pay 45.2 million MAD (approximately 6.5 million USD) to 
settle all tax office claims through the end of 2007, with 
the bulk up front and the remaining 10 million MAD over 18 
months.  The deal depletes the school's reserves but will 
enable it to survive and adjust to the new tax realities. 
Probably encouraged by this success, the tax office is now 
pursuing the Rabat American School for both individual and 
corporate income taxes, and the American School of Tangier 
for corporate income tax.  (COMMENT:  In Morocco, it is 
considered the company,s responsibility to withhold income 
tax for its employees and pay directly to the Moroccan 
Government.  END COMMENT.)  To our knowledge, however, 
neither institution has the resources that would permit it to 
make a settlement approaching the Casablanca example.  (NOTE: 
 An initial approach on December 12 from the Ministry of 
Finance regarding the Rabat school does hold out hope that a 
workable solution can be found.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Morocco's Position:  In meetings in recent days 
with Econ Counselor, MFA officials responsible for handling 
our proposed agreement have made clear that any school 
agreement must be in conformity with existing Moroccan 
legislation governing taxation and private educational 
establishments.  Cultural Affairs Director Karima Benyaich 
and her chief lawyer, Ahmed Tazi, stress that Morocco is 
eager to help the schools take advantage of any benefits that 
Moroccan legislation conveys, but will not carve out a 
special exception for them.  The U.S. proposal, they 
stressed, requires that Morocco either "change or violate its 
laws," and it cannot do either.  This message tracks with the 
rebuff we have received in our high level approaches pressing 
for support for the agreement.  For his part, Tax Director 
Bensouda remains adamant that Moroccan law is clear, and he 
will enforce it.  A "political decision" to do something for 
the schools must come from elsewhere and would require 
specific legislation, something for which the political will 
clearly does not exist. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) ACTION REQUEST:  In our meetings, Benyaich and Tazi 
urged that the United States think creatively of what it can 
do to help the schools, including revisiting proposals that 
we rebuffed in previous negotiating rounds.  They 
specifically mentioned the idea of shielding expatriate 
teachers from Moroccan taxation by granting them official PAT 
status.  This, they suggested, would enable Morocco not to 
tax such personnel without violating Moroccan law.  Post 
urges Department to give serious consideration to this 
possibility, as absent a decision to reopen the bilateral tax 
treaty and grant special status to teachers (which is 
unlikely to win Moroccan support), it appears to be the only 
way in which the looming impact of Moroccan taxation on the 
American schools can be softened.  The issue is critical, as 
together with financial settlement to cover past liability, 
the schools will be faced with the full weight of Moroccan 
taxes starting in January 2008.  With income tax rates at 42 
percent, this will be an onerous burden.  Both the number of 
teachers qualifying for PAT status, as well as the duration, 
could be carefully limited and controlled, but this would 
allow the schools to survive in the Moroccan environment, 
while maintaining the American culture and flavor so 
essential to preserving the American school experience.  END 
ACTION REQUEST. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT:  The schools' predicament stems from a 
long tradition of benign neglect by Moroccan authorities.  We 
have argued that this approach constituted "tacit 
recognition" that the schools were not subject to Moroccan 
legislation, but have not won any traction with the argument. 
 Given that Moroccan officials at all levels insist they 
value the schools and wish to see them continue to operate, 
we also continue to argue that it is impossible for 
educational institutions to produce five years of taxes in 
one fell swoop.  For his part, Tax Director Bensouda, who has 
broad discretion in resolving past liabilities, insists he 
desires to see the schools remain viable.  The Casablanca 
settlement is a tough one but does pass that test.  A further 
test will come with Rabat.  As noted above, initial signs are 
positive, and we will continue to press Moroccan authorities 
for a realistic settlement.  As we do so, however, we also 
need to think about what the U.S. Government can do to help 
ease the schools' transition to the new realities in Morocco. 
 END COMMENT. 
 
 
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Riley