Bandar Abbas Goldsmiths Protest Tax Hike, Strike Spreads Across Iran

Market vendors in the port city of Bandar Abbas rallied against tax hikes on Sunday as reports indicate an expanding goldsmiths' strike across Iran.

Bandar Abbas vendors gathered to demonstrate outside the Hormozgan General Administration of Finance and Tax Affairs. 

They protested the mandatory 10 percent value-added tax (VAT) increase and wider tax system issues. 

Videos showed protesters chanting slogans and demanding the cancellation of VAT hike directives.

Iran's Budget Law for this year raised the VAT rate from 9 percent to 10 percent.

The Bazar Civil Protest page on social media platform X announced the ongoing goldsmiths' strike and reported solidarity actions from Shiraz, Yazd, Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, Hamedan, Urmia, Zanjan, Qom, and Ardabil.

The strike targets amendments to the "Capital Income Tax" law.

The changes in the law are awaiting approval from the Guardian Council, after which they will be implemented shortly.

The tax plan requires gold buyers and sellers to pay a tax on the profit they make from the difference between buying and selling prices. 

Additionally, it mandates that gold dealers must register detailed invoices and asset information in the tax system. It also imposes tax on gold holdings exceeding 150 grams.