Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ehsan Khandouzi said on Monday that the country plans to increase tax revenues by 50% in the fiscal 2023-24.
The minister said that the government’s goal for rising tax income will be realized by identifying new tax payers.
The Iranian government earned 3,480 trillion rials ($8.73 billion) in tax income during the first three quarters of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 21).
Data released by the Iranian National Tax Administration shows earnings stood at 380 trillion rials ($953.81 million) in the ninth month of the year.
Total tax earnings during the Q1-3 period were estimated at 3,390 trillion rials ($8.5 billion), which means over 100% of the target were realized.
Iran’s total tax income stood at 3,250 trillion rials in the fiscal 2021-22 and 2,070 trillion rials ($5.19 billion) in 2020-21.
Khandouzi said that the government is seeking sustainable revenues so as to cut reliance on oil revenues.
He however said that this policy does not mean that the government aims to put more pressure on the producers and those tax payers who are operating transparently in the country's economic environment. The minister said that the new policy intends to prevent tax evasion.
In a bid to provide support for the production units and economic activists, the government reduced the tax rate for the companies by 5 percent in this year’s budget and is also scheduled to cut another seven percent of taxes next year, Khandouzi said.
The minister said that the government has launched economic data systems which have helped identify different cases of tax evasion.
He expressed hope that the government will be able to collect taxes from more than 2 million new tax payers next year.