Behind the tax exemption of celebrities and artists in the 1401 budget bill

According to the economic correspondent of Fars News Agency, tax is one of the tools of the government to “establish justice” in society; The general rule is that as the income of individuals increases, so does the percentage of their income tax, so that those with lower incomes pay lower taxes and those with higher incomes who are in the upper deciles of society pay more taxes.

Of course, taxation is also important for the government in two other aspects, “regulation” and “revenue generation”, but its most important function is defined as role-playing in establishing justice and reducing class distance in society.

* A step forward for the parliament in eliminating the tax exemption for artists in the 1400 budget

In recent years, the issue of preventing tax evasion of the upper deciles of society and the elimination of unjustified tax exemptions in the country’s expert and media space has been raised more than before, one of the examples of which is “tax exemption for artists and celebrities.”

According to experts, there is no good reason for artists to be exempt from income tax, unlike other sections of society. In fact, logic dictates that they, like other individuals, are subject to a tiered income tax or, like other businesses, are subject to a 25 percent profit tax.

With the same reasoning, the Islamic Consultative Assembly entered the issue of tax exemption for artists for the first time in the Budget Law of 1400, and during the review of the details of the 1400 budget bill, the deputies voted in favor of Additional Paragraph 3, Note 6 of the single article; Tax exemption for activities related to the publication of tuition and artistic activities such as acting subject to paragraph (l) of Article (139) of the Law on Direct Taxes, can be applied only up to 2 billion rials per year and then, as the case may be, at the rate of Article (105) Or Article (131) of the Law on Direct Taxes is subject to tax.

In other words, in the budget law 1400, a ceiling of 200 million Tomans was set for the tax exemption of artists, so that if this ceiling is exceeded, the income of artists and celebrities, like other natural and legal persons under Articles 105 and 131, will be taxed. This parliamentary resolution was approved in the budget law of 1400 against the will of the government of prudence and hope.

* The Integration Commission opposes the opinion of the 13th government on the taxation of artists in the budget bill

However, the issue of eliminating the tax exemption for artists was not implemented, but during the presentation of the 1401 budget bill, this time the 13th government, with a setback from the 1400 budget law, emphasized the unconditional tax exemption for artists. The issue was met with a reaction from some representatives of the Budget Consolidation Commission and the legal requirement to eliminate the tax exemption for artists was amended again in the 1401 budget bill with the approval of this commission.

Mehdi Ismaili, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, referring to the government’s decision to eliminate the tax exemption for artists, says: In the budget bill, we exempted artists from taxes, but the Merger Commission eliminated this issue. We have written to the parliament and we are trying not to let this issue harm the economy of art.

According to the resolution of the Budget Consolidation Commission, except for one paragraph (q) of Note 6, it was shown that “tax exemption for activities related to the publication of tuition and artistic activities subject to paragraph (l) of Article (139) of the Law on Direct Taxes” should be removed.

Seyed Hamid Pourmohammadi, deputy director of the Program and Budget Organization, said: “What was stated in the government bill was that only textbook publishing houses should pay taxes, but in the Joint Commission, one of the esteemed representatives proposed to abolish the artists’ tax exemption, but the government Seriously seeks to support artists. The government insists on tax exemptions for artists.

* Restore the tax exemption of artists by following some representatives ‌

However, this was not the end of the celebrity tax exemption in the 1401 budget bill. .

Muqtada’i, the proposing representative, states the reason for this: From the day the Joint Commission’s decision was published, artists complained about the tax. The artists were right. An artist who earns his living in this coronary era with his own suffering should be supported, not taxed. For this reason, I proposed the removal of this issue, which was approved by a high vote in the parliament, and the tax on artists was abolished.

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the parliament’s economic commission and another representative of the people of Isfahan, also supported the parliament’s decision: There is not enough income for artists to cancel their tax exemptions. PQ. Artistic activities should be eliminated in this section, but textbook publications with astronomical income should be taxed.

After this action of the parliament, the central board of the Cinematographers Association thanked the decision of the members of the parliament and wrote in a message: It was damaged. We have not forgotten your support and support for culture and art for many years, and we are grateful for your support and re-support of the culture and art of the country.

Now the fundamental question is how many of the arguments of the proponents of tax exemption for artists and celebrities are reasonable and acceptable? Is it not possible to extend the tax exemption of these groups to other guilds and groups on the pretext of their low income?

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