Shafaq News / The Minister of Transportation of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Ano Jawhar announced on Saturday a number of internet companies pledging to reduce capacities and improve their quality, calling at the same time to deposit the tax money collected by the federal government from mobile phone companies operating in the region in the financial treasury of Kurdistan.

Jawhar said in a video recording published by KRG, "We called on all internet companies to improve the speed and quality of the internet and reduce prices. Since the outbreak of Corona, a number of companies took the initiative to respond, and it is grateful that they have granted capacities to people and students for free."

 “A number of Internet companies operating in Kurdistan have pledged to reduce the prices of Internet capacities by 25% and improve speed and quality by 100%,” He added.

Regarding the mobile recharge cards that citizens complain , which is priced at 10 thousand dinars and sold by 12 thousand dinars, the minister said that this matter is related to the federal government and Kurdistan government has nothing to do with it.

He added that in 2015 the federal government imposed a 20% tax in the Iraqi budget law on sales of recharge cards.

Jawhar stressed that the federal government imposed those taxes on the contracts concluded with companies on recharge cards, adding that "Kurdistan ministry demanded for the deductible rate to be returned to the treasury of Kurdistan because as long as the citizens of the region are those who pay them, then these amounts must be spent on services in the region”.

He had previously confirmed that his ministry does not impose to pay sales tax sales on internet companies in the region, indicating that Baghdad government collects the money for those taxes, describing the matter as "unfair."

Ano Jawhar told Shafaq News Agency that his ministry "has 18 licensed telecommunications companies", noting that these companies "pay the income tax according to the legal fundamental procedures, and the ministry does not have the authority to exempt any company from income tax."

He added that his ministry "does not impose sales tax on companies, but it is studying how to impose this tax to increase the government imports."

With regard to "Korek, Zain and Asiacell" companies, Jawhar explained that these companies "pay the sales tax to the federal government, following a decision issued by the government of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in 2015."

He said, "the percentage of 20% on recharge cards , is paid when passing the budget law, to the government of Baghdad and we consider it unfair," noting that "sales tax funds of about 6 million members in the region go to the Iraqi government, which does not pay anything to Kurdistan “.

The Ministerial Council for National Security, chaired by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had issued a decision after the independence referendum held by the region in October 2017 that mobile communications networks be under the authority of the federal government and move its headquarters to Baghdad.

Iraq depends on the provision of the Internet on 8 ports, one of which is Ibrahim Al-Khalil, between Kurdistan Region and Turkey.