TEHRAN - The 112th dialogue council of the government and the private sector was held in Tehran on Monday evening, in which the country’s recent tax issues were discussed and attendees shared their views in this regard with the head of the Iranian National Tax Administration (INTA).

The meeting was attended by senior officials including Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi, Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam-Hossein Shafeie, and INTA Head Davoud Manzour, the ICCIMA portal reported.

In his opening speech as the chairman of the council, Khandouzi emphasized the need for achieving the country’s macroeconomic goals including restoring stability, curbing inflation, reducing the cost of business transactions, and removing the existing obstacles to business, in the current year and said: “The government is doing its best to manage the current fluctuations in order to improve the country’s economic performance compared to the previous year.”

The minister emphasized that the government should reduce the tax burden on real businesses, noting that this goal can only be achieved by promoting collaboration between government and private sector entities.

According to Khandouzi, transparent and official companies that operate according to the law should not bear the tax burden, and this burden should be borne by those who are not transparent and evade taxes.

“The country’s tax collecting system is not supposed to think only about securing its income at any cost,” he stressed.

Further in the meeting, Shafeie, as the secretary of the council, praised the performance of the Industry Ministry in eliminating cumbersome regulations in the way of businesses and noted that the results of the ministry’s measures have been very positive.

The ICCIMA also pointed to the atmosphere of understanding and dialogue which has been formed between the private sector and the tax organization as beneficial for both sides.

Elsewhere in the gathering, Manzour explained some of the measures that his organization has been taking to create synergy between the government and the private sector.

According to the official, the dialogue council is a suitable platform for reaching a consensus between the two sides and this capacity should be used to the best advantage.

EF/MA

Photo: Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi (C), ICCIMA Head Gholam-Hossein Shafeie (2nd L), and INTA Head Davoud Manzour (2nd R) at the 112th dialogue council of the government and the private sector on Monday