Small shopkeepers and traders are happy as the Taliban government exempted them from taxes. Some of these shopkeepers said that due to low sales and high shop rents, they were unable to pay taxes, local media reported.
Afghanistan's Tolo news reported that officials in the Islamic Emirate recently announced that according to the leader's decree, taxes will no longer be collected from small businesses and shopkeepers with annual sales of up to two million Afghanis.
A shopkeeper named Nisar Ahmad said, previously, we could barely cover the rent by the end of the month; it was a struggle. We are very happy with this decision by the Islamic Emirate. Another shopkeeper Noor Mohammad said, We used to pay 65,000 Afghanis annually with great difficulty, and now that we are exempt, we are very happy."
On the other hand, some shopkeepers, while acknowledging that taxes are the government's right, still call for further tax reductions from the interim government. Jawan Mard, a shopkeeper, said, It is true that this is the government's right and that it is spent on us again. If there is income and we can pay, it is a very good thing.
Some economic experts believe that the tax exemption by officials in the Islamic Emirate will increase the income of small business owners and encourage citizens to establish small businesses. Meanwhile, officials in the Islamic Emirate announced a reduction in the business tax rate from 0.5% to 0.3%.
Previously, the representative of the Afghanistan Traders & Investors Union (ATIU) asked the political deputy of the PM Mawlawi Abdul Kabir to cooperate with the private sector with ways to collect and reduce taxes. The representative of ATIU in this meeting discussed with the Political Deputy of the PM the commercial challenges and the losses caused to the private sector due to the suspension of more than 300 containers of commercial goods in Karachi port.
Basir Taraki, Executive Director of Afghanistan Industrial Association (AIA) for Kabul said: "We industrialists also try to produce high quality goods, because tax is based on the electricity consumption, each sector must measure a plan for itself, and an arrangement or procedure should be arranged for each sector, and they should pay the tax based on their consumption."
The political deputy of the PM, pointing to the importance of the activities of industrialists and merchants in the country's economic progress, said that it is their responsibility to provide facilities for all domestic and foreign merchants.
ZH
