Approaches to fighting against money laundering with special emphasis on tax strategies

Nowadays, money laundering is considered as one the major financial crimes in the world and consists of converting or transferring a property for the purpose of concealing its illegal source or of assisting any persons engaged in committing such crimes. Tax evasion is a sub-category of money laundering and, in many countries, both tax evasion and money laundering are pervasive. So, tax system reform is one of the most important strategies for fighting against money laundering. In the Iranian economy, too, there has been an increasing focus on fighting against money laundering since a few years ago. In addition to the approval of the Act for Fighting against Money Laundering by IslamicConsultative Assembly in 2007, the implementation of some tax plans and laws have already assisted or will assist the realization of this goal. Among these plans and laws, one may refer to the implementation of VAT system, the obligation imposed on the issuance of invoices, Tax Automation Reform Administration (TARA) plan, and the assessment of feasibility of reintroducing the aggregate income tax system.