Azerbaijan, Baku, July.24/ Trend R.Zamanov
Iran has earned over 400 trillion rials (some $12.12 billion based on the price of USD at the free market) in five years by implementing the Value-added tax project, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Askari said on Wednesday.
"Municipality received 165 billion rials out of the mentioned amount and the rest was transferred to the government," the ISNA News Agency quoted Askari as saying.
"Iran's tax income accounted for 43 percent of the country's expenses in the previous calendar year (which ended March 20)," he said.
Askari went on to note that the country's comprehensive tax plan has been carried out at the cost of 2.59 trillion rials (some $78.48 million based on the price of USD at the free market).
Iran's Tax Affairs Organization director Ali Askari said on July 17 that the country's tax revenues are projected to hit 450.8 trillion rials (about $18.1 billion) in the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21, up to 35 percent year on year, IRNA News Agency reported.
"Value-added tax incomes account for a large share of the rise in tax revenues," he added. "Value-added tax incomes and charges are forecasted to hit 190 trillion rials."
The Iranian government's tax incomes increased by 22 percent from $2.62 billion based on the official rate of 24,760 rials per each USD, from March 21, 2003 to $14.17 billion in the last solar year which ended on March 20, which has surpassed predicted figures of Iran's development plan, the Jahanesanat newspaper reported.
Some $10.50 billion taxable income had been predicted to be earned in the year end of the fourth National Development Plan that ended on March 21, 2009. However, the figure reached $12.11 billion which is 155 percent more than the predicted value.
It had been predicted that tax revenues will meet 80 percent of the government's current expenses budget in the Iranian solar year that ended in March 21, 2009, but this plan has only been realized only for 31 percent.
According to the plan, it had been predicted that the value of government's current expenses would reach $12.92 billion, but the figure rose to $23.99 billion in the same year.
During the following years, the share of taxable income for meeting the government's current expenses decreased even more and in last solar year taxable income met just 21 percent of the estimated amount.
Increasing inflation and liquidity during these years are also reasons for rising taxable incomes, the report said.
Iran's inflation rate in the past month increased by 32 percent compared to same period in the last solar year.