Herat shopkeepers complain about high taxes, low sales

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Shopkeepers in western Herat province complain they are obliged to pay high taxes despite decreased sales.

However, the Revenue Department says taxes from shops are collected based on criteria set by the government.

The shopkeepers say the government takes heavy taxes from them without considering their income.

According to shopkeepers, despite their low sales, they are forced to pay heavy taxes to the Revenue Department and the municipality; otherwise their shops will be closed.

Basir Ahmad, a garment seller in Herat City, told Pajhwok Afghan News that people’s interest in buying clothes had decreased due to economic problems and as a result their sales had halved.

He added there was no work and it was also difficult to go abroad to find work. According to him, he even barely earned the rent of his shop.

Wahid, another shopkeeper, confirmed Basir’s statement and said currently most shopkeepers could not afford to pay taxes.

He added the tax was not calculated based on their income as before and the government collected more tax from them than their income.

According to him, paying taxes is one of the main duties of traders and shopkeepers under the law, but the provincial administration must select a professional committee that determines the market situation first and then collects taxes accordingly.

These shopkeepers asked the officials concerned to pay serious attention to their low income.

HamayunTokhi, head of the revenue department, said tax collection was a legal process. He said taxes were levied according to the criteria set by the government on shops, services, location, sales, customer density and shop capital.

Based on his information, there are currently more than 50,000 shops and businesses in Herat city, employing more than 300,000 people.

sa/ma

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