Call for Spending Pollution Tax on Iran's Environment Issues

The Department of Environment has criticized the fact that revenues from pollution tax have not been spent to address causes of environmental woes.

Shina Ansari, the head of Monitoring Office at the Department of Environment, said DOE only has the authority to monitor and assess the amount of pollution generated by industries and submit reports to the Iranian National Tax Administration annually.  

“The revenue from pollution tax is then collected by municipalities based on the Value Added Tax Law passed in 2007,” she said, lamenting that municipalities do not spend the money where it should be, ISNA reported.

The total revenue from pollution tax was estimated to be 10 trillion rials ($2.5 billion) in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2017).

“If this amount had been spent to improve urban environments, its results would have been noticeable in sectors such as waste management, public transport, green spaces and air quality,” she said.

The official noted that due to the absence of sustainable sources of income for municipalities, these non-governmental bodies have drawn on eco-taxes to meet their financial needs and the real purpose of the tax has been lost.

However, the new VAT bill, currently under review by the parliament, proposes the allocation of 20% of green taxes to the National Environment Fund.

Ansari urged municipalities to spend the tax on developing environmental infrastructure and hoped that the bill will be passed soon.