Trending | Taxes on celebrities and high-income earners in Iraq
The General Tax Authority in Iraq announced that the government is moving to impose a 15 percent tax on social media sites in the country.
News spread and trended Social media In the past few hours, but it became clear that those concerned with this decision are celebrities on these platforms and not the ordinary citizen.
The head of the Tax Authority, Ali Waad Allawi, spoke about the people covered by these taxes, and said that there will be a decision to impose taxes on advertisements for TikTokers, bloggers, YouTubers, and some celebrities who have followers, and the decision is up to the Council of Ministers.
Ali Alawi confirmed that the authority is now looking into a mechanism to implement these taxes compared to neighboring countries.
All this process came in order to enhance non-oil revenues, especially in light of the decline in oil prices and the deterioration in oil revenues. These taxes will provide good financial revenues, and for this reason the percentage will be 15% of the percentage.
Content creators’ profits, especially since some of their profits are estimated at millions on a daily basis.”
Talk about the Iraqi government’s intention to compensate for the decline in oil revenues by imposing a tax on social media users and content creators, among other groups, has sparked widespread controversy in Iraq and mockery of the solutions that officials are resorting to at a time when corruption is rampant in the country.
Owner of the pageJust IraqiShe said: “What is spoiled by imaginary thefts, failure to return stolen funds, hold the corrupt accountable, excessive generosity, and exploitation of state resources, can be fixed by imposing taxes on social media sites under the pretext of low oil prices!”
what #spoil it Imaginary thefts, failure to recover stolen funds, hold corrupt people accountable, excessive generosity, and exploitation of state resources #fix it Imposing taxes on social media sites under the pretext of low oil prices!!😄
— just 🇮🇶 (@justiraqi_) September 16, 2024
“Asia”, for her part, suggested solutions in her comment, saying: “Ibn Khaldun said that the more taxes increase, the closer the state is to collapse. They are corruption and they are taxes. Reduce the salaries of the three presidents, ministers, representatives, governors and politicians. Cancel the salaries of Rafha, martyrs, political prisoners and foreign retirees. Expel foreign workers and appoint Iraqis.”
Ibn Khaldun said: The more taxes increase, the closer the state is to collapse. They are corruption and they are taxes. Reduce the salaries of the three presidents, ministers, representatives, governors and politicians. Cancel the salaries of Rafha, martyrs, political prisoners and foreign retirees. Expel foreign workers and appoint Iraqis.
— asia (@asia72687049) September 16, 2024
On the other hand, another activist denounced the luxurious government benefits and services that officials benefit from, while the rest of the population suffers from poverty and the inability to access jobs.
Activist Ali Al-Kanaan said: “The cars of officials, the cars of officials’ wives, the cars of officials’ sons, and the cars of officials’ bodyguards are all American, the latest model. Now the government comes and imposes Facebook taxes.”
Officials’ cars, officials’ wives’ cars, officials’ sons’ cars, and officials’ bodyguards’ cars are all American, latest model.
The government is imposing taxes on Facebook.
The government cannot only deal with the graduates’ demonstrations, because there were demonstrations that moved half of the south and they went up to the state and ended something called an honorable Iraqi protest.
– Ali Al-Kanaan 🔻 🏴 (@IQ_Ali21) September 16, 2024
There are those who saw this decision as correct, such as Fadi, who wrote: “There is one thing that must be said, the 15% is imposed on all sectors of income, whether private or public. So if they remove the tax from everyone or impose it on everyone, I pay a tax of 400 thousand in the private sector, what is the difference between me and someone who works selling products on Facebook? Why do they take it from me and the rest do not?”
But there is one thing that must be said, the 15% is imposed on all sectors of income, whether private or public, so if they remove the tax from everyone or impose it on everyone, I pay a tax of 400 thousand in the private sector, what is the difference between me and someone who works selling products on Facebook? Why do they take it from me and the rest do not?
— Fadi (@f_a_d_ii) September 16, 2024
The head of the Tax Authority confirmed that “there will be a tax platform to collect these taxes.
According to an initial, unofficial study, its monthly amounts could reach $5 million.
