TEHRAN- According to the latest data released by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), tax income rose 14.1 percent during the last Iranian calendar year (March 2017- March 2018) to reach 1.15 quadrillion rials (about $26.6 billion), Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

Based on the data which showed the details of the government’s budget performance during the mentioned period, along with the tax revenues the country’s current expenses also rose to 2,43 quadrillion rials (about $56.26 billion), some 17 percent more than the figure for the preceding year.

Iranian government earns budget from various sources including the revenues and offering capital assets and divesting financial assets to the private sector, the report said.

According to Head of National Tax Administration Kamel Taqavinejad, the share of tax revenues in Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP) has reached eight percent.

The official said the figure should reach 11 percent by the end of the country’s Six Five-Year National Development Plan (March 2021).

President Hassan Rouhani’s economic strategy is to significantly reduce the government’s dependency on oil and instead collect tax more systematically.

EF/MA