Diyala council member alleges 'death corridor' outside tax office

BAQUBAH, Iraq — A member of Diyala provincial council has alleged that citizens are forced to wait in a narrow, overheated corridor outside the provincial tax office to meet their financial obligations to the state. Ows al-Mihdevawi said the corridor, no wider than two meters, becomes severely congested daily, with temperatures inside rising because eight air-conditioning units blow hot air into the space. Al-Mihdevawi said the conditions disproportionately affect the elderly, the sick and women. He noted that business owners, merchants and those handling property transfers are required to visit the office to obtain tax clearance certificates, leaving them with no alternative but to endure the conditions. The council member said the current building is rented for roughly 30 million Iraqi dinars a month, while construction of a replacement facility has remained unfinished for more than 15 years. He called on the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister's Office to resolve the issue urgently, remove the tax office's director general from his post and accelerate completion of the new service building.