The Minister of Finance talks about tax exemptions of up to 64 million pounds
Finance Minister Mohammed Yusr Barnieh confirmed that "the total tax-exempt income will reach 64 million old Syrian pounds" when the new tax legislation system is approved in Syria, without specifying a deadline for this.
The statements of the Minister of Finance came to the state-run SANA news agency in response to what is being circulated on some media outlets and platforms about the tax exemption, where he said: "I followed what was circulated in some media and platforms about the tax exemption, especially what was attributed to us that those whose income is less than 5 million old pounds do not pay tax," indicating that this statement is inaccurate and does not reflect the formula that has been explained.
Minister Bernier explained that the current proposal is to exempt every citizen or employee whose annual income is less than 50 million pounds from the old tax, in addition to exempting an amount of 6 million pounds from dependency allowance and 8 million pounds of living allowance, pointing out that these figures reflect "the great support for low-income people, which includes most of the workers and employees in the state," as he put it.
The Minister of Finance said that low-income people are fully exempt from taxes, that there will also be social protection programs targeted at them, and that the state has made significant tax cuts compared to what it was in the past, as the tax system in Syria today is "among the lowest among the countries of the region and the world," despite the need to increase resources to finance investments in infrastructure and basic services.
Minister Barnieh explained that the Syrian government's strategy in this field is based on "reducing taxes in parallel with working to improve compliance and betting on the good responsiveness of the business sector, especially since taxes on corporate profits have been reduced from 28 percent to less than 15 percent, and there are incentives for the industrial sector, and important sectors on which tax reaches zero, such as the agriculture sector.
Elimination of the Consumer Spending Fee
The minister indicated that the transition from the complex consumer spending fee to a simpler and easier sales tax will be made, and said that basic commodities such as food, medicine and other things that affect the life of the citizen are fully exempt from the tax, and there are about 9300 goods and services that are exempt from sales tax.
Minister Barnia explained that there are many professions and people with high incomes whose owners do not pay any fees or taxes, and rich people who enjoy a "tax paradise", stressing that this will not continue, and they should not remain outside the fair contribution, expressing his hope and certainty that they will respond to contribute to the reconstruction of the country, and continued: "We will reward and encourage the tax-abiding businessman through the benefits of the Golden List, and we will punish the tax evader."
Minister Bernia explained that the implementation of the new tax system will be gradual, so that part of it will start during this year, and the other part will start from next year, in order to ensure an orderly and clear transition, and reduce any confusion or unjustified burdens, calling on everyone to investigate the accuracy in transferring this file, and to rely on full official formulations, because inaccurate deliberation or deliberation on issues that affect the livelihood of citizens causes confusion that does not serve the public interest.
Past promises of the Minister of Finance
On Thursday, August 14, 2025, the Minister of Finance wrote on his personal account on the "LinkedIn" platform that the new tax system will come into effect at the beginning of 2026, describing it as "simplified, clarified and competitive, and based on partnership and trust with the private sector.
The Minister of Finance also told the official SANA news agency on July 20, 2025, that the minimum tax-exempt salary has been raised from 279,000 Syrian pounds to 837,000 Syrian pounds, stressing that this applies to salaries that will be paid until the end of this year, because in 2026, the new tax law will come into effect, which will carry larger and broader exemptions, as he put it at the time.
Preliminary Draft of the Income Tax Bill
Last August, the Ministry of Finance announced the completion of the preparation of a preliminary draft of the income tax law and the sales tax law in preparation for putting them up for public discussion and receiving comments on them to remedy them before they are approved by the final one.
The draft included 14 chapters on the issues of this tax, namely taxpayers, tax entitlement, tax rates, tax exemptions, exempt limits, expenses in commissioning, taxpayers' obligations, cases of taxpayers' compliance with declarations, auditing taxpayers' data, objecting to assignment decisions, paying tax, dealing with losses, and tax litigation.
The new tax law in Syria included points and axes, most notably the reliance on a unified tax that does not discriminate between entities (companies or individuals), imposes a minimum income subject to assignment on those whose annual net income exceeds $12,000, grants a tax exemption on salaries not exceeding $12,000 per year, and abolishes the classification of taxpayers according to the nature of the business activity or profession.
Various Tax Cancellations
The Minister of Finance issued a decision last May, to cancel the real estate sales tax according to the prevailing value, in the event of a reversal of the sale, and failure to complete it with the consent of the seller and the buyer, in the context of applying the provisions of Law No. 15 of 2021, and at the end of last July, he issued a circular to re-issue financial licenses for the purposes of transferring real estate properties starting from August 3, and according to the same circular, the security approval for real estate sales was dispensed with and replaced with a No Objection document and canceled. Bank deposit requirement for sales.