The Tax Evasion Combating Committee, during a meeting chaired by Minister of Finance Yasser Barnea, discussed ways to develop its operational mechanisms and agreed to expand its mandate to include IT experts, with the aim of studying the possibility of employing artificial intelligence technologies to enhance tax evasion combating procedures.
The Ministry of Finance stated via its Telegram channel on Monday that during the meeting held at the ministry’s headquarters in Damascus, it was agreed that the committee would also include a specialist in process engineering, with the goal of regulating and simplifying tax procedures to help enhance compliance.
The ministry clarified that the committee was established to discuss the development of work mechanisms and enhance tax compliance, and to expand the scope of its work to contribute to simplifying procedures and raising the efficiency of combating tax evasion.
It pointed out that its main work consists of preparing a modern draft law to combat tax evasion, developing the department concerned with combating evasion within the ministry and equipping it with qualified personnel, and coordinating between it and the General Authority for Taxes and Fees, in terms of enhancing tax compliance and spreading tax awareness.
Minister Barnea emphasized developing the technical, educational, and awareness aspects and benefiting from successful models worldwide, directing the creation of a directorate affiliated with the Authority to focus on enhancing voluntary compliance, analyzing risks, collecting and verifying information, and sending it to the Tax Evasion Combating Device, which reports directly to the Minister of Finance, thereby ensuring the correctness of procedures and fairness in their application among taxpayers.
The meeting stressed equipping the device’s personnel with modern technical equipment since their assignment to the task, and documenting documents found with taxpayers, to enhance the accuracy and integrity of procedures, in addition to continuing the discussion of other axes related to combating tax evasion during subsequent meetings.
The Ministry of Finance had issued a decision on June 6, 2025, establishing a Tax Reform Committee to review and study the tax and fee system, and prepare a new tax system, which includes effective representation from the private sector, in a move considered the first of its kind.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
Comments (0)