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employees and retirees, and this issue is currently under final review.”
“The increase in the salaries of state employees and retirees will be finalised within a week or two, and I will announce it,” he added.
The Rouhani Administration is under immense pressure to alleviate some of the pain felt amid the economic turmoil and recession triggered by the sanctions, which have also effectively cut off the country from the international banking system, despite Washington’s claims that the sanctions are "targeted".
The government has been under pressure to award mid-Persian year salary increases, but fixed annual budgets set months in advance make that a complicated proposition. To partly get around the issue, some state employees have been given gift vouchers, free or reduced dental and medical insurance and food packages including rice and other staples.
6.1.1 Budget dynamics - tax issues
Iranians spending IRR100tn on cigarettes annually academics say
Iran out to catch tax cheats through point-of-sale levies
The latest data provided by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) shows that the government tax office earned some IRR2.6tn from cigarette taxes during the first seven months of the 2018/2019 Persian calendar year (March 21 – October 22). This suggests that in the past year, the government earned an extra 34% y/y.
At the turn of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2018), the Rouhani administration increased the income from tax on cigarettes by IRR75 (€0.004) per pack.
The number of smokers in Iran is not known, while the government also does not have figures on those smoking smuggled cigarettes or on how much tax it loses because of this illicit part of the market.
The tax office and police have stepped up efforts to clamp down on the import and distribution of smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes in the past year.
The increase in revenues over the past year is partly seen as stemming from efforts made to stop smuggled cigarettes coming into the country via routes running from the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and South Caucasus region. Some estimates show that 40% of all cigarettes smoked in Iran are smuggled into the country from these neighbouring countries.
Iran’s National Tax Administration (NTA) has announced it is to levy a corporate tax through transactions conducted through point-of-sale (POS) terminals, the Financial Tribune reported citing IBENA on
21 IRAN Country Report May 2019 www.intellinews.com