VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #7480 0280011
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 280003Z JAN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 8554
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY 2482
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS STATE 007480 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN PGOV IMF AF
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE: PRESS AFGHAN GOVERNMENT TO MEET IMF 
BENCHMARKS 
 
REF: KABUL 3277 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is an Action Request, see paragraph 2. 
 
¶2. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST: Upon receipt of this demarche, the 
Ambassador is requested to convey the importance of stronger 
compliance with Afghanistan,s International Monetary Fund 
(IMF) program to President Karzai.  The Ambassador should 
encourage chiefs of missions at resident embassies in Kabul 
that the U.S. government is making this demarche and 
encourage them to make joint representations to President 
Karzai. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Suggested Talking Points: 
 
I have been instructed by Washington agencies to stress the 
need for stronger compliance with Afghanistan,s IMF program. 
 
 
The IMF,s program review mission in December documented 
serious slippage in revenue collection, particularly in 
customs. 
 
Strong compliance with the IMF program, supporting the 
Ministry of Finance,s efforts to increase revenue 
generation, requires your close personal attention. 
 
An improvement in revenue collection is necessary for 
Afghanistan to complete the next review of the IMF program. 
This is a prerequisite for Afghanistan to achieve the debt 
relief negotiated with Paris Club creditors, including Russia. 
 
It is critical that Afghanistan both demonstrate to the 
international community, in the form of a realistic target, 
its firm resolve to increase revenues and take timely 
concrete steps to improve collection. 
 
Such measures would also strengthen the legitimacy of the 
Afghan Government by increasing its available resources and 
would provide your government with added resources to spend 
on delivering services to the population at a time of growing 
pressures on the public budget. 
 
Furthermore, the donor community will be more likely to meet 
their commitments expressed at the June Paris Donors 
conference if your government demonstrates adherence to the 
program. 
 
We have discussed this issue with other donors and have found 
broad international agreement that the following actions by 
your government are critical to address the revenue shortfall 
and remain in compliance with the IMF program: 
 
Encourage Parliament to enact pending tax amendments, 
including applying the business receipts tax to imports. 
 
Instruct the Minister of Commerce and Industry to implement 
an MOU already agreed between the Finance and Commerce 
ministries, enabling Finance to assess and collect customs 
duties and taxes owed by the Fuel and Liquid Gas Enterprise. 
 
Instruct your Cabinet to provide the Ministry of Finance with 
the support to collect taxes from all taxpayers, regardless 
of their political connections. 
CLINTON