Development contractors operating in Afghanistan are hopeful they have found common ground with the country’s government over a long-standing series of tax disputes that have caused some companies to consider leaving Afghanistan outright.
Contractor representatives and U.S. officials met with Afghan Minister of Finance Eklil Ahmad Hakimi at the country’s embassy in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. The minister, in town for the World Bank’s spring meetings, informed attendees of his intention to issue an order that would “de-couple” a company’s disputed back taxes from its current ability to acquire a business license, according to representatives from the Professional Services Council, a lobbying group for U.S. contractors.
U.S. contractors working in Afghanistan hope that means they will no longer see visas withheld, employees placed on “no-fly” lists, or threats of incarceration for not paying taxes they believe U.S.-Afghan bilateral agreements prohibit in the first place. They also hope it means less time operating without a business license, a precarious — and illegal — status that leaves companies prone to seeing visa applications denied, imports blocked and assets seized.