According to the findings of a research conducted by a Syrian analyst, the problem of tax evasion in Syria is so complicated and has adverse effects on the State’s revenues, economic performance and the moral structure of society.
The London based Al Hayat newspaper quoted in a recent report economic researcher, Samir Suaifan, as estimating the volume of tax payment evasion in Syria at 50 billion Syrian pounds, which is three times the actual current tax revenues. The researcher expected that the tax reforms measures would lead to a decline in the volume of unpaid taxes, and bring them down to half of their size over the next few years.
Suaifan said that the private sector contributes 22 percent to the tax revenues in the country while its contribution to the GDP amounts to 50 percent.
The Syrian Ministry of Finance estimates the tax burden in Syria at 13 percent of the GDP, but Suaifan believes that the tax burden amounts to 14.5 percent of the GDP indicating that tax payment evasion in Syria has made the possibility of increasing salaries and wages a very remote possibility. This, in turn, has led to the continuation of economic recession for many years, he said -- Albawaba.com
