Al Monitor | Saeid Jafari: A threefold increase in the departure tax proposed by the government has prompted outrage among many Iranians. The proposed hike is part of the administration�s new budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year, starting March 21, 2018. President Hassan Rouhani�submitted the draft budget�to parliament Dec.�10, but the controversy surrounding the document may prevent its approval.


The proposal of a new government budget in Iran has always been accompanied by a great deal of debate. However, the latest draft seems to be drawing more criticism�than before, particularly in the parts that�involve departure taxes.

But what are departure taxes and how did they come to be?�Iran�s parliament�approved this tax in 1985, given the country�s unique situation at the time, namely the Iran-Iraq War and the shortage of�government funds. According to the measure, any person who wished to travel abroad via air�was required to pay a fee�of 50,000�rials ($1.40) to the treasury. Over time, this law became permanent and the fee steadily increased.�The�current fee�is 750,000�rials ($21), but�under the new budget plan submitted by Rouhani,�this figure would increase to�2.2 million rials ($61.80) for one's�first trip�abroad. The�fee would rise�to�3.3 million rials ($92.70) for the second trip and then to 4.4 million�rials�($123.60)�for all other trips over a 12-month period.

A�social media frenzy�ensued after news of the proposed fee�hike�broke, prompting government officials to respond to the situation. �The fact that there are twice as many [Iranian] tourists who exit the country as [foreign] ones who enter is not a good thing," said�Ali Asghar Mounesan, the head of Iran�s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts�and Tourism Organization, on�Dec.�10. "Previously, some 100,000 rials ($2.80) of each departure tax would go to the Iranian Cultural Heritage Center. With the increase, 400,000 rials ($11.24) [of each departure tax] will be allocated to this organization.�

 

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