KRG to reorganize tax exemptions, advance private sector
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Senior officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday discussed ways to organize and review the region’s tax system as part of the ninth cabinet’s reform program, which includes revenue, reorganizing the government’s expenditure, and improvement in administration.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chaired the meeting where officials discussed ways to activate and develop the private sector, review the tax system, and reorganize it through a closed-circuit television system, a statement from the KRG read.
“Minister of Planning, Dara Rashid, presented a report, in which he reviewed the opportunities and obstacles that prevented citizens from engaging in private sector work, recommending several solutions, strategies, and implementation plans to address the issues,” the statement added.
Minister Rashid presented a special curriculum for the Public-Private Partnership Project (PPP) that the relevant ministries studied, and worked on, which will be presented to the cabinet for approval soon, the statement noted.
During the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Amanj Rahem agreed to supervise the committee formed to reorganize and review the tax system. Rahem presented a detailed report regarding taxes and the overall problems and obstacles that hinder the development of the tax system, especially in the field of major projects such as energy, communication networks, and housing complexes.
The cabinet members also sought to enrich the project with more observations and input to regulate taxes and take into account the public interest, so it can be a distinct source of income, the statement said.
Such reforms are part of the framework of the ninth KRG cabinet and its plans to diversify sources of income, regulate non-oil imports, as well as review tax exemptions in line with the law, implementing a new tax calculation mechanism, and organizing legal accounting work to reduce tax evasion.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany