The members of the Federal Parliament of Somalia who held their regular meeting today at the Villa Hargeisa in Mogadishu discussed the complaint of the government’s decision to raise the sales tax.
The MPs are divided on the point of view of lifting the Sales Tax, some of them supported the government to lift the Tax, while others opposed the removal of the Sales Tax from the Mogadishu businessmen, which caused a lot of discussion.
The Minister of Finance of the Federal Government of Somalia, Bihi Iman Cige, who spoke in front of the MPs, gave details on the debate brought by some of the MPs on how the Income Tax system was implemented.
Minister Bihi said that businessmen do not refuse to pay tax and pay it as intended, but they have other concerns that are not Sales Tax.
“Members, don’t get me wrong, it’s a lie, businessmen don’t refuse taxes, I have appointed a committee of businessmen to negotiate and they agree to leave, but they have other issues that need to be resolved, and we must discuss how to resolve them.” said Somalia’s Finance Minister Bihi Iman Cige.
Minister Bihi’s statement comes as some members of parliament said in the meeting that the issue of sales tax is targeting the business of certain people and want to destroy their property.
The removal of the sales tax, which the Somali government said was officially implemented in Mogadishu yesterday, is still under discussion, and it is worth noting that on the second day some parts of the Bakara market were closed due to the complaints of the businessmen about the sale of the tax.
