Ghazni municipality revenues witness 4-fold increase

GHAZNI CITY (PAN): Annual revenue of the municipality department in southern Ghazni province reached 46 millions afghanis this year, registering a four-fold increase compared to the previous year, when the income stood at 12 million afghanis.

The process of collecting revenue was handed over to the private sector at the start of the current solar year, Ghazni Mayor Syed Abdul Basir Noori told Pajhwok Afghan News on Saturday.

Private sector officials worked round the clock while municipality staff would collect taxes only during official timings, he said, adding the tax on loaded vehicle had been increased from 200afs to 300afs per tone.

If the revenue continued to soar with each passing year, they would be able to implement many development projects with municipality’s funds, the mayor hoped.

The income of public works department had also gone up, enabling the authorities to set aside enough funds for development activity in the province, said Governor Musa Khan Akbarzada.

Meanwhile, local traders complained about the behaviour of private sector officials during the tax collection process, alleging increased taxes had sent prices of daily-use items soaring.

“The private sector officials charge traders 5afs for each carton of food,” said the head for the Ghazni chapter of the Afghanistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries, Mohammad Ihsan.

“Previously, municipality workers exempted 500 cartons from tax if a trader imported 20,000 food cartons to the Ghazni City. But the private sector doesn’t exempt even a single carton from tax,” he concluded.

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