Casablanca Jewish leaders expressed fears today that if new tax amendments approved by the Casablanca Municipal Council are put into effect, the Jewish community will lose an estimated 45,000,000 dirham ($9,112,000) annually, which is about 90 percent of its income.
The Municipal Council decided at its March 29 meeting to change the base of assessments of taxes on welfare organizations, but the measure would affect primarily the Casablanca Jewish community which collects about 50,000,000 dirham ($10,125,000) a year from taxes on kosher meats. The money is used to provide for the care of Jewish needy in the city.
The effect of the Municipal Council’s action would be to reduce this figure to about 5,000,000 dirham ($1,000,000) with the balance going for the benefit of the Moslem community, leaving the Jews unable to help their needy persons.
Max Loeub, a member of the Jewish community and of the Municipal Council, explained the situation from the Jewish viewpoint but his efforts failed. If the measure is carried out, the Casablanca Jewish community indicated it would seek an audience with King Hassan II to acquaint him with the problem.
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