The harsh daily life in Gaza just got harder after Hamas imposed additional taxes. Business dealers and civilians in Gaza told the Arab website “24” that the Hamas Ministry of Finance decided to impose taxes on all basic commodities, both on sellers and buyers in the stores and supermarkets. Hamas officials keep track of businesses and pressure them to pay taxes on time, even if they are unable to sell their goods. This trend has increased significantly since Operation Protective Edge last summer.
Gazans say that Hamas hiked the taxes on basic commodities to make up for the lack of success in raising enough donor aid from Arab and other foreign countries to pay for the rebuilding needed in the Gaza Strip. Another obvious reason is the absence of tax revenues Hamas collected from goods smuggled through the hundreds of illegal tunnels under the Egyptian border that have been destroyed by the Egyptian army in the past year.
For example, the Hamas finance department collects money from cooking gas dealers in the Gaza Strip. Traders in this vital industry created a monopoly selling gas to residents at a double price. Many residents, who preferred to remain anonymous out of fear, claim that much of the money flows to Hamas coffers.
In addition, with smuggling drastically reduced, tobacco prices have increased significantly in the Gaza Strip. Merchants attribute this to Hamas imposing a high tax on every carton with goods smuggled into Gaza. This situation also applies on dozens of other products.
As a result the prices of basic commodities in Gaza have soared at a time that majority of Gazans are living in poverty. Anger and dissatisfaction towards the radical Islamic movement is rising, with Gazans accusing that Hamas itself made the situation worse in the last years. “This has been intolerable,” said some business people to “24”. They accused the movement of trying to solve its financial crisis at the expense of ordinary people in Gaza.
The article noted that Hamas officials have a continuous presence in shops and markets, threatening business owners not to talk about taxes, otherwise their goods will be confiscated or shops will be closed. They can even find themselves behind bars.
Since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, the economic situation of the residents deteriorated. Many accuse Hamas of taking donor money from Arab states for rebuilding the Strip and using it for its own needs and the purchase of weapons.
By TheTower.org Staff
