{"id":32253,"date":"2026-03-23T13:24:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/32253\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T13:24:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:24:06","slug":"iraqs-20-telecom-tax-sparks-debate-over-economic-burden-on-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/32253\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraq\u2019s 20% telecom tax sparks debate over economic burden on citizens"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n 2026-03-23T13:06:55+00:00<\/p>\n

font<\/p>\n

Enable Reading Mode<\/p>\n

\n A-
\n A
\n A+\n <\/p>\n

Shafaq News- Baghdad<\/p>\n

The decision by Iraq\u2019s caretaker government, led by Mohammed
\nShia Al-Sudani, to reimpose a 20% tax on internet services and mobile recharge
\ncards has sparked debate over the country\u2019s fiscal policy and its direct impact
\non citizens.<\/p>\n

The measure, which took effect on March 10, 2026, reinstates
\na tax<\/a> previously abolished in 2022. However, it is now applied differently,
\nwith the levy added directly to the price paid by users rather than being
\nimposed on telecom companies, as was the case under former Prime Minister Haider
\nal-Abadi (2014\u20132018).<\/p>\n

In 2016, Haidar Al-Abadi\u2019s government defended salary
\ndeductions of 3.8% and telecom taxes as necessary during the costly war against
\nISIS and a sharp decline in oil prices. At the time, Iraq\u2019s domestic debt stood
\nat 63 trillion dinars ($52\u201353B in 2016 terms).<\/p>\n

Recent economic data indicate that domestic debt rose to 91
\ntrillion dinars in 2025\u20132026 (USD69 – 70 B), prompting the government to seek
\nadditional liquidity and focus on increasing non-oil revenues.<\/p>\n

Economic experts interviewed by Shafaq News say the key
\ndifference between the two periods lies in how the tax is applied. Previously,
\ncompanies could absorb part of the cost or adjust pricing structures. Now, the
\ntax is passed directly to consumers, with an immediate effect on service
\nprices.<\/p>\n

Nawar Al-Saadi, a professor of international economics,
\ndescribed the shift as a \u201cdangerous transformation\u201d in tax policy. \u201cIn 2015,
\nthe tax targeted telecom companies as the legally responsible entities,
\nallowing them some flexibility in managing the cost,\u201d he told Shafaq News,
\nadding that today, the burden has moved entirely to the consumer, meaning the
\nimpact is immediately reflected in the price of recharge cards or internet
\nsubscriptions.<\/p>\n

He noted that this approach eliminates room for competition
\namong providers to absorb costs, explaining, \u201cUsers now pay the full 20% when
\npurchasing mobile credit or renewing fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) subscriptions.\u201d Saadi stressed that telecommunications and internet services<\/a>
\nhave become essential to economic activity, education, and work, making any
\nincrease in their cost significant for a broad segment of the population.<\/p>\n

Economic researcher Ahmed Eid said the decision reflects a
\ngovernment push to boost non-oil revenues but raises concerns about how the tax
\nburden is distributed.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Shafaq News, he said, instead of addressing
\ninefficiencies in public revenue management or collecting outstanding dues from
\nmajor companies accused of failing to meet past financial obligations, \u201cthe
\ngovernment has turned to taxing everyday services used by citizens because it is
\nthe easiest option.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eid pointed out that many countries are reducing taxes on
\ndigital services to support technological transformation, \u201cwhile Iraq is moving
\nin the opposite direction.\u201d He also argued that imposing a tax of this scale on services relied
\nupon by millions for work and education highlights a misalignment in fiscal
\npriorities and deepens perceptions of inequality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026-03-23T13:06:55+00:00 font Enable Reading Mode A- A A+ Shafaq News- Baghdad The decision by Iraq\u2019s caretaker government, led…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32254,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[14],"tags":[152,1445,94,14841,14842],"class_list":["post-32253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iraq","tag-breaking","tag-internet","tag-iraq","tag-iraqs-20-telecom-tax-sparks-debate-over-economic-burden-on-citizens","tag-mobile-recharge"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116278714139782784","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}