The acting Minister of Finance announced a reduction of the taxes for shops, saying the shopkeepers will pay half of their taxes.

Acting Minister Hedayatullah Badri said the reduction of taxes for the shops is intended to reduce the price of food materials and increase jobs.

“(Taxes) have been lowered to an unprecedented level, because we want to create more job vacancies for our countrymen,” said Hedayatullah Badri, acting minister of finance.

The Ministry of Finance urged the shopkeepers to provide transparent reports of their incomes.

In addition, this ministry said that they will seriously fight against corruption.

“We decreased taxes ...by half,” said Miraj Mohammad Miraj, an official within the ministry.

Meanwhile, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Abdul Salam Hanafi, said that the collected tax will be used transparently.

“Our shopkeeper and guilds have to consider decreasing the taxes on their goods,” he said.