Iran To Tax Instagram Bloggers, Celebrities

While the Islamic Republic has banned access to Instagram, the country’s tax organization says it is going to tax Instagram bloggers and celebrities.

According to Iran’s National Tax Administration, it has spotted 555 bloggers, among whom, 123 have a total income of 23,000 billion rials (over 45 million dollars). It is likely the influencers are using the platform under a VPN since the networks have been blocked by the regime.

In an interview with state affiliated ISNA, Mehdi Mowahed, the Spokesperson of the Tax Administration said "these people have income and should pay taxes for it." It is normal practice globally for bloggers and influencers to pay tax on income accordingly.

The tax administration has predicted that about 5,000 billion rials (10 million dollars) or more will be collected from Instagram influencers this year.

In March 2020, Iran’s parliament approved a law to collect taxes from users with more than 500,000 followers on social networks; a law that has many ambiguities regarding the way people are identified, the platform they work on, and many other things.

Last year, after the blocking of Instagram and WhatsApp, the Ministry of Communications announced a support plan for tax exemption for active users on platforms approved by the regime like Rubika, and iGap.

Despite large investment in domestic platforms, these services could not win the trust of ordinary citizens.

Experts have warned that domestic apps are very vulnerable to government intrusion and there are serious safety and privacy concerns including the fear that security services could be able to spy on people through them.