A day after President Hassan Rouhani issued the amendment to direct tax law to the Economy Ministry, the central bank’s public relations released a statement rejecting the claim that personal banking information will be monitored.
“The goal of implementing the direct taxation law is not eying people’s account information, rather the government and the regulator want to create more transparency in the country’s economic activities,” the statement said.
With the implementation of the new tax law, the Iranian National Tax Administration will create a database that will include information on identity, transactions and finances of taxpayers.
It will comprise information on identity—residence, commercial permits, transaction data—purchase of goods and services, import and export data, commercial and service contracts, foreign exchange and precious metals trading, insurance premiums and claims details, and bills of lading, financial records—annual turnover of securities, bank account turnover and yearend balance, and turnover savings account information.
INTA will also collect each person’s list of assets, including real-estate and their trading record.
The new tax law requires all governmental, municipal, non-governmental, public, revolutionary and financial institutions, the State Organization for Deeds and Properties along with private institutions “that have the database’s needed data or in any way assist individuals in obtaining income or assets,” to provide the tax administration with information.
Half of the Iranian economy is avoiding the taxman, including many state-affiliated organizations, which either do not provide their books or falsify financial records. Proponents of the Rouhani’s order argue that the administration is trying to target these companies and individuals, making it hard for them to evade taxes.
