News - Yemen: The Yemeni Shura Council condemned the decision of the Minister of Finance of the pro-aggression government to impose additional amounts on account of income taxes on importers.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the council considered this arbitrary measure, which is deliberately taken by the pro-aggression government, serves only the US-Saudi forces, which seeks by various means to tighten the screws on the Yemeni people.

The statement pointed out that at a time when the Yemeni people are suffering from economic crises, in light of the interruption of salaries and the refusal of the aggression to disburse them from the looted oil revenues, the pro-aggression government comes out with the arbitrary decision to impose additional income taxes on importers of various commodities.

The council's statement stressed that such proceedings will double the rate of poverty and famine and harm the movement of internal trade in all governorates.

The statement called on the United Nations and international humanitarian organizations to intervene urgently and pressure to cancel this decision and these inhumane actions that aim to directly harm the livelihood of the Yemeni people and increase their human suffering.

On Wednesday, the General Federation of Yemeni Chambers of Commerce and Industry condemned the decision of the ]Minister of Finance of the pro-aggression government to impose the collection of additional amounts on account of income taxes on importers.

In a statement, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry warned of the consequences of this decision on economic activity in the country, trade and investment activity, and high costs.

On Sunday, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, Ahmed Hajar said, "The pro-Saudi Government agreement with the Arab Monetary Fund cannot be accepted because it is illegal. The aim of the last loan is to flood Yemen with loans targeting the Yemeni economy".

He stated that the projects that will be financed from the Arab Monetary Fund loan are not known, and it will serve the US-Saudi aggression, not the Yemeni society. He pointed out that all economic policies pursued by the countries involved in aggression against Yemen violate the laws.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance went on to say that borrowing from the Arab Monetary Fund is going to be the largest loan yet, and the interest rate in it is many times the loans from international institutions.

Recently, the Central Bank issued an important statement regarding the approval of the International Monetary Fund to support the account of the Central Bank branch in Aden with an amount of $300 million from the special drawing rights of Yemen.

The statement stressed that the decision of the International Monetary Fund reveals the contradiction of its policies and decisions and the duplication of its dealings with the same issues according to political agendas, pointing out that the US-Saudi aggression seek to implement their plans towards Yemen, by providing funds illegally to finance military operations and the war on Yemen.

The statement indicated that the Central Bank in Sana'a had previously informed the International Monetary Fund of its objection to any decision to approve enabling the branch of the Central Bank in Aden to use the special drawing rights of Yemen.

The statement also indicated that the Central Bank demanded the provision of management of the rights of withdrawal units through a third party to ensure that the value of these units is used to finance commodity imports, and the allocation of the equivalent in Yemeni riyals to pay the salaries of state employees.

For its part, the Central Bank also demanded that the value of the drawing rights units be used to pay part of the value of the local public debt owed to banks operating in Yemen. It explained that paying part of the public debt owed to banks enables them to pay part of the funds of their depositors, and alleviates the banks’ obligations and the liquidity crisis they are going through.

The statement added, "We demanded to stop any disposal of the Special Drawing Units of the Republic of Yemen, until the end of the aggression against Yemen, in order to ensure that the entire Yemeni people benefit from the drawing rights units."

The statement warned that: "In the event that the International Monetary Fund rejects any of our demands, we reaffirm our total rejection of any decision taken by the Fund regarding the Special Drawing Rights of the Republic of Yemen."

The statement stressed: "We release our responsibility from any burdens that will result from the decision of the International Monetary Fund in the event that it rejects our demands.