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Iran: Identification of 2000 Front Companies in Connection With Tax Offenses

Seyyed-Kamel-Taqavinejad

NCRI – Iran’s Deputy Minister of Economy announced the identification of 2000 companies involved in tax violations.

According to Seyyed Kamel Taqavinejad, Iran’s Deputy Minister of Economy, a network of tax violations have been identified in Karaj and East of Tehran Province. Two thousand companies are in this network that are said to have been placed on the black list of the tax. (IRGC Fars News Agency – March 7th)

One of the problems in Iran is the economy’s dependence on oil revenues and government’s inability to collect taxes, especially from institutions of power.

January 16 of this year, Ali Tayyebnia, Iranian regime’s Minister of Economy in his speech at the Chamber of Commerce said: “We all believe that one of the problems of our economy is its dependence on oil, and our inflation is because of the economy’s dependence on oil. If we want this situation to be regulated, we must cut our dependence through increased tax revenue.”

According to the Minister of Economy, “taxes are not collected fairly and the share of various sections are not appropriate and a lot of illogical tax exemptions exist in the country and all of these pressures are exerted on transparent sectors of economy and industry”. A large part of the economy is under the control of the main centers of power institutions such as the supreme leader, Astan Quds Razavi and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Many companies that are owned by these institutions or like Astan Quds Razavi, are either exempt from tax or with various excuses evade paying taxes.

Ali Tayyebnia said in that meeting: “With the decisions we have taken in the past, we have put tax pressures on production sectors but we have to bear in mind that this has led to pressure on active private sectors in the country’s economy.”

Rouhani’s Minister of Economy admits: “If we want to prevent tax evasion in the country, we have to fight money laundering and we should bear in mind that in this way there is a lot of resistance and noise.”

Ali Tayyebnia pointed to a shocking example of barriers toward transparency: “I have to say about the comprehensive customs plan that they poured gasoline on three customs agent to immolate them because they were against transparency.”