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Much of $1bn Afghanistan tax bill is bogus, says US
Source: The Guardian
Much of 1bn Afghanistan tax bill is bogus, says US
Emma Graham-Harrison and Mokhtar Amiri in Kabul
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 May 2013 21.02 BST
The Afghan government has charged a tax bill of nearly $1bn (£600m) to foreign firms working for the US military and government over the last five years, but there is no legal basis for many of the charges and levies, a US watchdog has found in a damning new report released on Tuesday.
Kabul has ignored agreements with Nato and the US to spare firms supplying the military or involved in development projects from paying national taxes, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar) said.
One in every 10 dollars chalked up towards the $921m bill since 2008 was a clear violation of violated those deals, the auditor said. The vast majority of the rest could not be evaluated because there was no clear description of the taxes or penalties levied, which in itself is a red flag to accountants.
"Based on our analysis, much of this total amount is likely illegitimate," said the report, which is just the latest in a string of probes by the government-appointed auditor into the finances of the US mission in Afghanistan.
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Emma Graham-Harrison and Mokhtar Amiri in Kabul
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 May 2013 21.02 BST
The Afghan government has charged a tax bill of nearly $1bn (£600m) to foreign firms working for the US military and government over the last five years, but there is no legal basis for many of the charges and levies, a US watchdog has found in a damning new report released on Tuesday.
Kabul has ignored agreements with Nato and the US to spare firms supplying the military or involved in development projects from paying national taxes, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar) said.
One in every 10 dollars chalked up towards the $921m bill since 2008 was a clear violation of violated those deals, the auditor said. The vast majority of the rest could not be evaluated because there was no clear description of the taxes or penalties levied, which in itself is a red flag to accountants.
"Based on our analysis, much of this total amount is likely illegitimate," said the report, which is just the latest in a string of probes by the government-appointed auditor into the finances of the US mission in Afghanistan.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/14/afghanistan-tax-bill-us