KABUL - The Afghan Attorney General (AG) office's reaffirmed on Tuesday that all those involved in bribery and tax evasion would be held accountable to the law, responding to the shopkeepers and artisans in Kabul who closed their shops on Monday in protest over a sales tax hike and allegations that they had been bribing tax officials at the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

Attorney General Abdul Basir Azizi said that anyone in the private sector found to be bribing or attempting to bribe a public official would be prosecuted.

Meanwhile, the High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption has said that it no longer possesses the power to intercede in matters relating to the government and private sector. The Council of Ministers has reportedly revoked that authority, yet their spokesman was not ready to speak on the subject when contacted by TOLOnews.
When asked about the hike in the sales tax and the controversy around corruption in the taxation of the private sector, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) was unavailable for comment.

Independent economic experts say taxes on the private sector are critical to economic growth and the provision of critical public services that allow businesses to flourish.

"All of the private institutions must pay taxes for the country's growth and so the government can provide the necessary facilities for people's wellbeing," economist Firoz Khan Masjidi said on Tuesday. "If the private institutions escape paying taxes it causes the country to go backwards so therefore the private sector should pay taxes." (Tolonews)