Follow up Letter to "Taxes: Afghan Government Has Levied Nearly a Billion Dollars in Business Taxes on Contractors Supporting U.S. Government Efforts in Afghanistan"
Abstract
In May 2013, SIGAR issued an audit that identified nearly $1 billion in business taxes and penalties imposed by the Afghan government on contractors supporting U.S. operations. In this follow-up letter to that report, we identify additional costs - including various fees, fines, and penalties - that the Afghan government imposed on many of those same contractors. These additional fines, fees, and penalties may cost these contractors, and ultimately the U.S. government, hundreds of millions of dollars, and the actions taken by the Afghan government to enforce them may have an adverse effect on U.S. military operations. As such, we believe that these costs warrant the immediate attention of Congress. Since 2002, Congress has appropriated nearly $93 billion to U.S. government agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of State (State), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), to implement humanitarian and reconstruction programs and projects in Afghanistan. U.S. government agencies, in turn, have awarded billions of dollars to contractors to implement those programs and projects. Contractors play important roles in the reconstruction effort by procuring goods and services needed to build roads, schools, and hospitals; equip, train, and house Afghan security forces; and support U.S. personnel working in Afghanistan.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 28, 2013
- Accession Number
- AD1140713
Entities
People
- John Sopko
Organizations
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction