Reports from Iran reveal ongoing strikes by gold merchants across the nation, extending into Saturday, May 11. These strikes, which have been escalating over the past two weeks, are in response to the Raisi government taxation policies affecting the gold trade sector.
According to local sources, gold merchants in Tehran’s “Sabzeh Meydan” Mall and the bustling Grand Bazaar of “Qa’em” in Tajrish remained on strike on Saturday. Simultaneously, gold merchants in various cities including Mashhad, Arak, Ardabil, and Shahin Shahr joined the strike, expressing solidarity with their peers in the capital.
The strike persists despite reports from the state-run ISNA news agency on May 8, which disclosed a new directive from the Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade. The directive states that gold merchants are no longer required to register their fixed capital in the Comprehensive Trade System. Instead, they are mandated to register transaction information in gold transactions for “transparency reasons”. This reversal follows extensive protests by gold merchants nationwide against the initial directive.
The decision to strike by gold merchants stems from concerns over the government’s taxation policies. The government of Ebrahim Raisi has implemented a significant increase in tax revenues, exceeding 50% in the budget for the year 1403 on the Iranian calendar. This tax hike has prompted widespread discontent among various sectors of society.
May 11—#Iran
Strikes continue in the gold and jewelry bazars of Mashhad, Arak, and Ardebil, protesting new regulations that levy heavy tazes on their assets.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/xJILxpHo9n— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 11, 2024
The strikes by gold merchants have reverberated across different sectors, with vendors in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan province, staging protests against the increase in value-added tax. These protests underscore a broader discontentment with government policies affecting various segments of Iranian society.
As tensions persist between the government and gold merchants, the strikes signal a broader dissatisfaction with economic policies in Iran. The Raisi government faces mounting pressure to address the concerns of gold merchants and other affected sectors to alleviate socioeconomic tensions in the country.