Most of the times it is believed human rights violations accrue when authorities misuse their power toward their citizen. However the recent article by an Arabic news agency Al-Akhbar, which transltes to All News, totally changes this assumption. According to Al-Akhbar numbers of major appliances importers refuse to pay taxes in Iraq. The sources reveal that LG, Samsung and Al-Hafiz, which are major importers in Iraq, refuse paying taxes to a Shia government.
Refusing to pay tax in a country in which those companies are making multimillion dollar profits is wrong and it should not matter who runs the government!!! Clearly importers are taking advantage of the need of the Iraqi people and unrest in the country to become wealthier, yet they do not want to pay taxes because they do not agree with the faith of the government!?
I do not know about the legal and ethical codes of the mentioned companies, but such important importers are expected to respect the law of the country in which they work or move out if they do not agree with the government.
SRW is not pro or against any government regardless of their faith, however taxes are used to ease the lives of the citizens. Iraq is a country with majority Shia Muslims and most of that population are at or below poverty line. Refusing to pay taxes means LG, Samsung and Al-Hafiz are taking advantage of the government and people but not paying back to help the society. Sources report the companies are not willing to pay taxes because the government is Shia; in this case what LG, Samsung and Al-Hafiz are doing is not just illegal but also Shia rights violation!!!!
SRW invites all to hand in hand help end human rights violation. Refusing to pay taxes in any country is illegal, unethical and now human rights violation.
By Hawraa, A Human Right Advocate and Specialist on July, 16, 2013
