Under foreign pressures, Iran taxation system needs reformation

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Leader of Tehran's Provisional Friday Prayers Seyyed Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard stressed the need for structural reforms in the country’s taxation system in the face of foreign economic sanctions.

During this week’s Friday prayers sermon in Tehran, the senior cleric called for the need for structural reforms in the country’s taxation system, while the Iranian Parliament is discussing the next year’s budget bill this month.

Aboutorabi-Fard added that the budget bill draws a roadmap for a country during next year.

He called on the government to take measures to seriously fight tax evasion, adding that the next year’s budget bill needs to be transparent and cut the public spending.

“If there are no structural reforms in financial policies, we will face serious problems in the upcoming years,” he underlined.

He added “if monetary policies of the country are not reformed, the inflation problem will not be resolved, and if the banking system is not reformed, major challenges will be created for the country.”

Aboutorabi-Fard, who previously served as the vice-speaker of the Iranian Parliament, criticized the high level of tax evasion in the country.

“The country's taxation system needs reform in order to be just,” the senior cleric said, calling on all apparatuses to provide the taxation system with reliable information in accordance with the law.

Tehran's Provisional Friday Prayers leader went on to stress that the taxation system reform is a necessity for the country amid foreign pressures on its economy.

He referred to a neighboring country, withought mentioning its name, which had been able to tackle high inflation through amending its taxation system.

He further called for reducing the public spending on the part of the government as an urgent necessity.

In part of his speech, he attached great importance to an oil-free economy, calling on the government to look for other resources of income rather than depending on oil revenues.

The senior cleric went on to note that the Islamic economy is different from that of the West, saying that the economy in Islam is not a goal but it is a tool for human excellence and transcendence.


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