KABUL - According to the statistics, poppy cultivation, drug trafficking, illegal mining, illegal exports, unpaid taxes, the grabbed lands’ business and money laundering make the main parts of the underground economy of the country.
“An initial review shows that at least 50 percent of the country’s economy might be illegal,” the SCO deputy chief Hasibullah Moahid said.
Moahid said he suggests further assessments into the issue to find the exact figure of illegal economy in the country.
According to Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI), some government’s high-ranking officials and parliament members are the main players of the country’s underground economy.
“There are many problems. You know when we do business, we pay one million AFs (as taxes), but when they do trafficking, they pay only 300,000 AFs (as taxes). We have two options: to stop our business because we cannot compete with them, or to join them and establish relations with them,” the ACCI deputy chief Khan Jan Alokozay said.
He urged government to eradicate the illegal economy.
The ACCI officials claimed that government has no plan on hand to stop underground economy in the country. (Tolonews)