KABUL: Afghan Ministry of Finance (MoF) has reported controversial on numbers of potential taxpayers in Kabul.
While MoF officials on Monday said not even 50,000 people are eligible to pay taxes in the capital, including large and medial taxpayers, independent analysts and the Kabul Municipality have reported that number to be much higher, somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 taxpayers.
According to the Merchants Association, there are roughly 100,000 medial and large-sized potential taxpayers in Kabul, yet the majority of them are not registered and do not pay taxes. The association has pointed to this as evidence of the country’s troubled tax system, which they have said is a result of its muddled structure, lack of enforcement and corruption.
“Ministry of finance has been failed to identify the taxpayers and also the lack of any particular system for the collection of taxes has paved the way for tax evasion,” Merchants Association spokesman Mohammad Hassan Sepahi said.
Meanwhile, the Kabul Municipality has reported around 70,000 eligible taxpayers in the capital. “More than 70,000 are doing business, including super stores, workshops, restaurants and parlors, but only 15,000 of them have received permission from us while another 55,000 operate without proper registration,” municipality spokesman Mohammad Tawab said.
When asked about the inconsistencies in figures being reported, MoF spokesman Abdul Qadir Jailani maintained that the official estimate was in line with the existing laws of Afghanistan. “The figure that I shared abides by the prevailing laws of the country, and they are paying their taxes.”
