TEHRAN- Iran’s tax revenue has increased 31 percent in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), Omid- Ali Parsa, the head of Iran’s National Tax Administration (INTA), announced.

Putting the country’s tax income at 1.43 quadrillion rials (about $34.04 billion) in the previous year, the official said, “We could collect 250 trillion rials (about $5.9 billion) as value-added tax (VAT)”, IRIB reported.

Parsa also said that the country has gained projected tax income by 102 percent in the past year, and put the average tax income growth at 21 percent during the previous five years.

The head of the National Tax Administration further mentioned preventing tax evasion as one of the prioritized programs of INTA.

As the oil sale accounts for just seven percent of the country’s income in the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 20), the revenues gained from elimination of hidden energy subsidies as well as increased tax incomes will replace oil revenues, according to Head of Iran's Plan and Budget Organization (PBO) Mohammad Bagher Nobakht.

“This does not mean a rise in tax income; but by setting new tax bases and eliminating unnecessary exemptions at a time of economic warfare, more tax revenues will be provided,” the official had said in late November 2019.

MA/MA