Merchants operating in the second district of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, have voiced severe alarm over aggressive taxation policies and punitive enforcement measures by de facto authorities, warning that local small businesses are facing total bankruptcy.
Speaking to Zawia News, local shopkeepers detailed a sharp escalation in annual tax demands under the de facto administration compared to rates assessed under the former government. Business owners noted that tax bills previously set at 3,000 Afghanis (approx. $45 USD) under the Republic have now jumped to over 18,000 Afghanis (approx. $270 USD).
Punitive Enforcement and Hypocrisy Critiques
In addition to steep rate hikes, merchants criticized the de facto revenue department’s zero-tolerance enforcement tactics and ideological contradictions:
- Forced Store Closures: De facto tax collectors have begun immediately sealing and locking storefronts over minor administrative hold-ups or tax payment delays as short as one hour.
- Economic Stagnation: Merchants emphasize that sixfold tax demands coincide with severely weakened consumer purchasing power, high inflation, and declining foot traffic, creating an unsustainable operating environment for small retail stalls.
- Ideological Reversals: Shopkeepers highlighted the regime’s ideological inconsistency, pointing out that Taliban figures historically condemned state taxes as un-Islamic extortion during their insurgency, only to impose rates four to six times higher upon seizing power.
The aggressive tax collection drive in Jalalabad reflects a broader national pattern where de facto authorities, cut off from foreign development assistance, rely heavily on aggressive domestic tax enforcement, customs duties, and municipal levies to fund state operational budgets and security apparatuses at the expense of an impoverished populace.