President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government prioritized strengthening fiscal sustainability through increased tax mobilization, with new data revealing that 70% of the state’s current expenditure was funded by tax revenues last year (began on March 20, 2024).
Head of the Iranian National Tax Administration (INTA) Mohammad-Hadi Sobhanian, stated, “Last year, nearly 70% of the government’s current expenditure were funded by taxes, with tax collection exceeding both economic growth and inflation rates.”
Speaking at the 14th Iran Fiscal and Tax Policy Conference on Saturday, Sobhanian noted, “The tax system is expected to provide sustainable resources for the country’s current expenses, but due to high oil revenues, this had not materialized for decades.”
“In recent years, taxes have become one of the government’s stable resources for funding national expenses. The share of taxes in various ratios reflects reduced budget dependency, indicating significant progress in this area. Last year, despite challenges such as energy shortages and subsequent bank closures, we mobilized 1,229 trillion tomans (≈ $15 billion USD) in tax resources, compared to 305 trillion tomans (≈ $3.7 billion USD) in 2021,” he added.
Emphasizing a fourfold growth in tax resource mobilization over four years, he said, “The tax-to-GDP ratio stood at approximately 5.7% in 2021, rising to 8.3% last year.”
The deputy economy minister further stated, “Over the past two years, nearly 50% of the budget has been funded by taxes.”