TEHRAN – Iran’s Deputy Finance and Economic Affairs Minister said the ministry is planning on amending the regulations pertain to tax exemptions in the country’s free economic zones.

Mentioning the criticism facing the tax exemptions in free zones regarding their ineffectiveness, Mohammad-Ali Dehqan Dehnavi noted that supporting the country’s free zones as gateways to development of trade is important, however considering the abuses that is resulted from such support, it seems that some amendment is in order,  Mehr news agency reported on Sunday.

“The solution is to reform the current path; it can include removing exemptions altogether or regulating and monitoring them,” he said adding that “Iranian National Tax Administration (INTA) is just needed to be provided with sufficient information on economic activities in the mentioned zones [to make the necessary decision].” 

According to Dehnavi, the country’s free zones are currently in charge of their economic information, and the Tax Administration has no authority in this regard.

“If this information is made available to the tax office [INTA], it will certainly help prevent tax evasion,” he added.

Mentioning a comprehensive tax information bank which INTA is collecting, the official said: “In its Comprehensive Tax Plan, INTA seeks to expand its database.”

“If all the country’s economic information could be collected into one comprehensive database in the form of a tax plan, we would surely see good results,” he added.

EF/MA