KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani chaired a meeting of the cabinet on Wednesday to discuss implementing best practice for the taxation system of the Kurdistan Region. The ministers reviewed an internal pilot project tasked with developing a new legal and auditing framework. The framework updates current auditing practices and […]
Tag Archives | tax
SMEs to be Tax Free for 10 Years
By John Lee. The Iraqi Government has said it will exempt small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) from income tax for ten years. In a statement, it said: “The government announced a draft amendment to Income Tax Law No. 113 of 1982 to exempt several groups on low-income from paying income tax. “The proposed amendment also […]
Netherlands, Iraq sign Double Taxation Agreement
By Editor on 1st July 2019 in Investment, Iraq Banking & Finance News, Iraq Industry & Trade News, Politics
By John Lee. Iraq and the Netherlands have signed a double taxation agreement on Monday. Iraqi Finance Minister Fuad Hussein is quoted as saying that avoiding double taxation will improve the business environment and help to attract foreign businesses and investments to Iraq. (Sources: Iraqi Ministry of Finance, Kurdistan 24)
Iraq Increases Taxes amid Public Discontent
By Salam Zidane for Al Monitor. Any views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Iraqi government sent to parliament a revised version of the 2018 budget bill for the fourth time Feb. 11. The budget proposal includes a new 10% tax on sales at commercial centers, restaurants and […]
Iraq Accused of “Shake Downs” to Force Tax Payments
By John Lee. Associated Press reports that American military contractors operating in Iraq are accusing Baghdad of employing strong-arm tactics to make them pay exorbitant income taxes. To force payment of the taxes, which the companies say are haphazardly calculated and can total millions of dollars, Iraqi authorities are alleged to have held up, and […]
Nearly Half of Kurdish Businesses Pay no Tax
From Rudaw. Re-published with permission by Iraq Business News. Of nearly 25,000 registered companies in the Kurdistan Region, only around 13,000 of them pay corporate income tax, according to a new report from the Directorate of Taxes and Public Properties in Erbil. General manager of the directorate, Dr. Kamal Tayyib, told Rudaw the systematic tax […]
Zain to pay $94m to settle Iraqna Tax Case
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Zain Iraq is to pay $94 million to settle a tax case related to the 2007 acquisition of rival operator Iraqna from Egypt’s Orascom Telecom. Iraq’s General Commission of Taxes (GCT) claimed Zain Iraq owed $187 million in capital gains tax due on its $1.2 billion purchase of the […]
New Sales Tax hits Zain’s Income
By John Lee. Zain Group has said that continued social unrest in Iraq, coupled with heightened levels of price competition and implementation of a new 20 percent sales tax on mobile services, as well as wide-ranging tax increases on other sectors in Iraq, have hit spending on mobile services. The company said that this has […]
Court finds against Zain in $187m Tax Ruling
By John Lee. Reuters reports that an Iraqi appeals court has upheld a ruling that mobile phone operator Zain Iraq must pay a $187-million tax bill related to the acquisition of a rival Iraqna from Egypt’s Orascom Telecom in 2007. Unusually, says the report, the government tried to levy capital gains tax worth $187 million on […]