TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian authorities have announced initiatives to tax unfinished residential buildings in Tehran and vacant homes in major cities. The move appears aimed at helping to stimulate demand in the housing market, which has been in a deep recession since summer 2013. Another motive could be to increase tax revenue as the government is expected to face a budget deficit in the Iranian fiscal year running to March 20, 2017, given the weakness in oil prices.
On Feb. 2, the Tehran City Council gave the mayor approval to tax builders who delay finishing construction projects in the metropolis. The so-called suspension tax is expected to free part of the 100 trillion rials ($3.33 billion) in resources tied up in 400,000 construction projects that are underway across the country, according to leading Iranian economic daily Donya-e Eqtesad. The paper, however, has not clarified how many of these unfinished projects are located in Tehran.
