Several city taxi drivers in Kabul are complaining about rising taxes and the costs imposed on their vehicles. They say that, in addition to renewing their vehicle documents, they are also forced to pay sums to various institutions every three months. According to them, these costs are being collected from drivers at a time when their workload and income have fallen compared to the past, while fuel prices and the cost of vehicle repairs continue to climb. The drivers add that the income of many among them does not match the steadily growing tax burden, and that the continuation of this situation has made their work difficult. They believe that some of these costs are levied without any regard for the drivers’ economic circumstances, and paying them is a heavy burden for many families.
In conversation with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, these drivers stress that the Taliban have left the process of obtaining taxi licenses unrestricted, and that this has led to additional costs being placed on drivers. They say that, alongside the taxes and various payments they make to the Taliban officially, bribes are also extracted from them under different pretexts by some traffic officers, an issue that has placed even greater pressure on the drivers and narrowed their working space further.
These drivers are calling on officials to review the way taxes are collected and the level of those taxes, and to take into account the economic situation of the driver class.
Shujauddin (pseudonym), one of the city taxi drivers in Kabul, complains about the increase in taxi taxes in the city. He says that despite the difficulties of work following the recent developments, he is forced to pay heavy taxes to the transport and traffic departments. According to him, the drop in income and the shrinking area of taxi operations, combined with rising taxes, have placed even greater economic pressure on this class.
This driver says: “Our income is not enough for us to both cover the family’s expenses and pay the taxes that have been set. My vehicle’s tax booklet has expired, but so far, I have not been able to come up with the money to renew it. Every three months,s we have to pay between two thousand and two thousand five hundred AFN to traffic so that the vehicle’s tax booklet can be renewed.” According to Shujauddin, the Taliban do not pay enough attention to the situation of the working class and, in their decisions, focus mainly on revenue and financial considerations.
Shujauddin adds, “In the past, the taxes on taxis were lower, but now they have increased. Alongside tax, es there are other costs, such as the license, fuel, and vehicle repairs. With less work and a growing number of vehicles, drivers’ income has fallen, and many of us are dissatisfied with the current situation.”
Nasser (pseudonym), another city taxi driver in Kabul, says that the taxes he pays to departments under Taliban control do not match his daily income, but he has no choice but to keep working to cover his family’s expenses. He calls on the Taliban’s Ministry of Transport and Aviation and the Traffic Directorate to reduce these taxes.
This driver says, “Business has become very weak. The municipality, the revenue office, traffic, and transport each collect taxes separately. Every three months, we pay money to renew our documents, and the cost of renewing some documents reaches thousands of AFN. In the past, we earned up to two thousand or two thousand five hundred AFN a day, but now on some days we do not even make a thousand AFN. The Taliban have left taxi licensing unrestricted and, in return, have increased the additional costs on drivers.”
Shayeq (pseudonym), another taxi driver in Kabul, says that he turned to driving out of necessity, but the rise in taxes and side costs has placed heavy economic pressure on him. He adds that if these costs are not paid, drivers face administrative problems and a halt to their work.
This driver says, “Business has become very bad. I used to have a shop and worked in the mobile phone trade, but my income dropped, and I was forced to turn my own private car into a taxi. Every three months, we pay around one thousand three hundred AFN in taxes, and we also pay a monthly sum for transport. On top of that, there are the costs related to documents and other expenses. If order improves, the situation of drivers will improve too. No,w private cars are also doing taxi work in many cases, and competition has increased. We want more order in the transport sector, the enforcement of the law, and better conditions for drivers to operate.”
Qutbuddin (pseudonym), one of the taxi drivers in Kabul, says that he works up to 20 hours a day and, despite his great effort, his income does not cover the cost of living and the taxes. He adds that he worked in the transport sector in previous periods as well, but in recent years, working conditions for drivers have become harder. According to Qutbuddin, the rise in taxes and various costs has meant that a large part of his daily income goes toward paying off debts and expenses.
This driver says: “During the Republic, I had a rickshaw in Jalalabad and paid around 250 USD a month in taxes, but with that same work,k my life moved along to some extent. I even paid the monthly house rent of 5,000 AFN. But now conditions have become very hard. In recent years, the taxes have risen sharply. Now we pay more than 188,000 AFN a year in taxes, while in a month,h perhaps only a small amount is left for us. Because of these very taxes, I even quarrel with my family, and we have fallen into psychological difficulties.”
This driver adds, “I swear to God, our hearts are heavy from these taxes taken in the name of an Islamic government. Our nerves are shattered. The officials sit comfortably in their chairs, while we travel back and forth from morning to night just for a morsel of bread. By the end of the day, sometimes not even three hundred AFN is left for us, and even from that, we still have to pay taxes. There is so much pressure at home that we can barely face it; every day they demand money, but we simply have nothing left to give.”
According to information from the Taliban’s Ministry of Transport and Aviation, around 20,000 official taxi vehicles currently operate in the city of Kabul. The ministry also says that more than 5,000 city buses provide transport services on various routes in the capital. Even so, the drivers of these vehicles, alongside their work challenges, complain about rising taxes and the costs associated with renewing documents, and say this has placed greater economic pressure on them. According to the drivers, every month or every three months, depending on the type of vehicle, they pay around 2,000 to 2,500 AFN to the Taliban’s Ministry of Transport and Aviation and the Traffic Directorate in Kabul.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
افزایش مالیه و فشار اقتصادی بر رانندهگان تکسی؛ پرداختهای سهماهه به طالبان ادامه دارد
