The government earned 150 trillion rials ($1.11 billion) in tax revenues during the first two months of the current Iranian year that started on March 21, a former caretaker of the Iranian National Tax Administration said.
Mohammad Qasem Panahi added that the figure indicates a 22% rise compared with tax revenues earned during the corresponding period of last year, expecting tax revenues to hit 1,400 trillion rials ($10.44 billion) by the end of the current fiscal year (March 19, 2020), Mehr News Agency reported.
According to Panahi, tax revenues in the fiscal 2018-19 stood at 1,090 trillion rials ($8.13 billion).
“The earnings had been estimated to stand at 1,130 trillion rials ($8.43 billion) as per the budget law, suggesting that 97% of the target have been achieved,” he was earlier quoted as saying by ILNA.
“Direct tax revenues, including tax on legal entities, income tax and wealth tax, stood at 640 trillion rials ($4.77 billion), registering an increase of 15% compared with the year before.”
Earnings from tax on goods and services hit 450 trillion rials ($3.35 billion), indicating an 11% year-on-year growth.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance estimates that tax evasion and avoidance in Iran stands at 35% of total tax revenues.
INTA is setting up a specialized court that will hear only tax cases in Tehran.
Value added tax accounts for the lion’s share of total tax revenues in Iran with 23.5%
Value added tax accounts for the lion’s share of total tax revenues in Iran with 23.5%, as per the INTA figures, followed by corporate tax and import tax. This is while income tax makes up the biggest share of tax revenues in high-income countries. Corporate (company) tax is the second top earner of such revenues in Iran.
According to the World Bank's latest Ease of Doing Business Report for 2019, Iran's score in "paying taxes" was 56.78, registering an improvement of 4.17 percentage points compared to 2018.
The Doing Business report measures the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-sized company must pay in a given year as well as the administrative burden of taxes and contributions.
According to the World Bank, on average, firms in Iran make 20 tax payments a year, spend 216 hours a year filing, preparing and paying taxes, and pay taxes amounting to 44.7% of their profit, placing the country at 149th place among 190 nations.
The World Bank says Iran made paying taxes easier by introducing an online system for filing social security contributions, allowing the possibility of filing value added tax refund claims online, amending corporate income tax returns online and making payment of additional tax liability at the bank.
Omid Ali Parsa, the former head of the Statistical Center of Iran, has been appointed director of the Iranian National Tax Administration.
Expanding the tax base, fighting tax evasion and improving transparency in taxation process were missions set for the new chief taxman by President Hassan Rouhani. Kamel Taqavinejad, the former head of INTA, is currently serving as deputy health minister.
It was not immediately known who will replace Parsa to lead the Statistical Center of Iran.
