Taxpayers Rights, Comparative Study on the Nahj al-Balaghah Teachings and the Iranian Tax System

One of the most important financial resources of government in the past and now isthe tax. Taxes, in addition to providing a significant portion of public revenues, areseen and used as a tool of government to modify wealth in society and eliminate theclass divide. In the Islamic government there are also several sources of funding,including Zakat, Khoms, Anfal and Jezyeh. Citizens as they are required to pay avariety of Islamic and legal taxes, also have rights to the government and its taxsystem. In this article, we examine and answer to this question by descriptiveanalytical method What are the rights and privileges of Islamic tax payers in Nahjal-Balaghah and how much does the tax system of Iran compare whit the teachingsof Nahj al-Balaghah in this regard. The finding of this research show that Imam Ali`sapproach to tax collection is a hybrid approach involving both education and incomeand thus the principle is based on the trust of taxpayers, but the Iranian tax system ismerely a monetization approach and it puts the principle of distrust on taxpayers. Ofcourse in some of the rights as the right to a fair and respectful behavior, the right toprivacy, the right to review, the right to a fair assessment and the Iranian tax systemis consistent with the teachings of Nahj al-Balaghah.