Syrian Government Plans Tax Overhaul to Achieve Tax Justice

In order to achieve tax justice for all taxpayers, Syria's caretaker government is trying to revamp the tax system within the next three months, with a first draft anticipated within four months. They are also exploring excluding taxpayers from fines and interest to the greatest extent possible.

According to Syria's finance minister, the government would also raise the pay of a large number of public sector workers by 400 percent next month after finishing a reorganization of departments to increase accountability and efficiency.

A combination of regional help, new investments, and efforts to unfreeze Syrian assets held abroad would be used to finance the increase, which is expected to cost 1.65 trillion Syrian pounds, or almost US$127 million at current exchange rates.

The salaries of Syria's public sector workers under the overthrown regime of President Bashar al-Assad were about US$25 per month, placing them and the bulk of the country's population below the poverty line. According to Mohammed Abazeed, the finance minister of Syria's interim government said.

The increase would impact individuals with the requisite experience, education, and abilities for reconstruction and would come after a thorough review of up to 1.3 million registered public sector workers to eliminate fake workers from the payroll.The government anticipates recovering up to $400 million in Syrian assets that have been frozen overseas, which might help pay for the initial costs.