Financial Tribune - A t a time when the country is grappling with new US sanctions and extraordinary economic challenges, reports speak about billions in pending taxes, which if paid can go a long way in plugging the government�s budget deficits.

Although there are no accurate figures on the unpaid taxes, the newly-appointed head of Iranian National Tax Administration, Omid Ali Parsa, estimates it to be in the region of 400 trillion rials ($3.3 billion), ISNA reported.

The amount is almost 35% of total tax revenue of the government estimated by the Economy Minister Farhad Dejpasand.

The numbers are troubling for the government struggling to find ways to cut deficit spending as national revenues shrink due to the mounting US restrictions on the key oil and banking sectors.