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Houthis Double Customs Duties, Tariffs

Yemenis in Sanaa market (EPA)
Yemenis in Sanaa market (EPA)
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Houthis Double Customs Duties, Tariffs

Yemenis in Sanaa market (EPA)
Yemenis in Sanaa market (EPA)

The Houthi militia is preparing to increase customs duties rates on goods, increase tariffs and raise the exchange dollar rate from YR250 to YR600.

The militias imposed multiple taxes on goods arriving from areas under the control of the legitimate government or through Hodeidah port, in a country that imports 90 percent of its needs.

Conflicts between the group's wings have intensified, according to reports claiming that the factions argue over funds and recruitment to cover the lack of fighters on the Marib, al-Bayda, and al-Jawf fronts.

The group had already doubled the tax and customs duties on goods and merchandise several times.

In 2017, the militias approved increasing the taxes on mobile, landline, and internet services and raising taxes on domestic and imported cigarettes.

Taxes on mobile services increased from 10 percent to 22 percent, and the local and international phone services from 5 percent to 10 percent.

Taxes on domestic and imported cigarettes, tobacco, and molasses were raised to 120 percent from 90 percent.

Last year, a study by the Economic Media Center reported that the Houthi militia amended the tax and customs laws and introduced new articles, including amendments to Law No. 17 of 2010 on income taxes and a draft law for the year 2020 amending law No. 19 of 2001 on general sales tax.

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Kurdistan Salary Crisis Clouds Eid Celebrations in Baghdad

Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)
Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)
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Kurdistan Salary Crisis Clouds Eid Celebrations in Baghdad

Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)
Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)

The festivity of Eid al-Adha in Baghdad was overshadowed by growing political tensions, particularly over the unresolved salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region.

While Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani opted for a neutral gesture - issuing a general holiday greeting and performing Eid prayers without comment - other political leaders used the occasion to speak pointedly about the nation’s deepening challenges.

Al-Sudani attended Eid prayers at Al-Rasoul Mosque in the capital, choosing to remain silent on political matters. However, influential Shiite cleric and head of the Hikma Movement, Ammar al-Hakim, and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali both delivered speeches that touched on the country’s fraught political and economic landscape.

Al-Hakim warned against the use of political money in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for November 11, 2025.

Calling the vote “historic,” he emphasized the need for electoral integrity and urged political blocs to adopt a national code of conduct barring the use of illicit funds. “There is talk of a market where candidates and voters are being bought. This is corruption and betrayal of the people,” he said.

He also addressed Iraq’s perennial electricity crisis, calling for a “strategic state of emergency” to resolve the issue once and for all. “Despite changing governments and large budgets, the same problems repeat themselves,” he noted.

Al-Hakim stressed the need for governments to define clear priorities, including agriculture, water, and clean energy, and said Iraqis “deserve a dignified life that begins with stable electricity and ends with technological advancement.”

Khazali, meanwhile, focused his remarks on the Kurdistan Region salary crisis, criticizing accusations from Kurdish media that he was responsible for the federal government’s suspension of public sector salaries in the region. “It’s simply not true,” he said. “Unfortunately, salaries remain unpaid to this day.”

He stressed that despite Iraq’s wealth, the country continues to suffer from poverty and unemployment, and argued that the roots of these issues lie in the legacy of the former Ba’ath regime.

Khazali also pointed out that Kurdistan experiences higher poverty rates than the rest of Iraq, and that many Iraqi refugees abroad are from the region.

Turning to the electricity crisis, he warned this summer could be the most difficult in years, as outages are expected to worsen. “All past governments focused on increasing output but ignored the need to instill a culture of energy conservation,” he said, warning that some groups may seek to exploit the crisis to sow internal unrest.