The current fasting season of Gena, the Ethiopian Christmas, did not force all butcheries in the capital to close their doors. But it does not mean that all of them are open either since most of them remain closed until the holiday.

Some open doors to serve customers like Biruk Eshetu, a teacher by profession who is fond of beef and enjoys eating it raw at his regular butchery.

A resident in Gotera Condominium, Biruk comes from the southern part of the country where beef is considered a cultural food consumed every day.

“I see myself as one of the primary consumers of beef,” Biruk says.

Since last week Biruk observed that a lot of butcheries are shuttered or have increased their prices. He learned from business owners that the reason was the tax increase that was imposed on them.

The closure of the butcheries followed the enactment of a directive that was issued by the city's Revenues Authority recently.

Five years ago, the tax Authority found it difficult to collect tax from meat shops because of the lack of accurate data on the number of cattle slaughtered by the butcheries. Due to this, the sector was exposed to mischievous activities, according to the Authority.

Considering this, a group of individuals from the city's Abattoirs Enterprise, Revenues Authority and meat sellers association established a team. The team classified the tax collection system into four categories, making the weight of the cattle the basis for the tax estimation.

The meat of cattle weighing 214Kg and above was considered a very high standard product. Cattle at this level were taxed at 3,821.30 Br each.

The second category, high standard meat, pertained to cattle ranging between 173Kg and 214Kg, which were taxed at 3,232.80 Br a head.

The middle standard meat designation referred to livestock that weight between 110Kg and 173Kg, which were taxed at 1,627.35 Br each.

The low standard product specified livestock between 84Kg and 110Kg, which were taxed at 1,053.15 Br a head.

However, in practice, the taxing system was instead applied using two schemes. The first scheme merged the first three higher-quality beef categories into one, which all cost 1,971 Br in taxes a head, and kept the fourth category as it is. Regular butcheries were under the first scheme, causing them to pay a higher tax for better cuts of beef.

Under the second scheme, cooperative meat shops, kebele recreational centres and institutional meat shops under employee associations only paid 1,052.15 Br for every category of beef they serve, which is why they typically offered cheaper prices.

Butcheries under both categories, however, are required to submit a monthly financial statement with the number of cattle they slaughter to the tax office. However, butcheries pay the annual tax based on this monthly data at the end of October. This is why the industry is suddenly up in arms.

Due to the unpredictable price of meat, the Authority was supposed to revise the tax every six months based on the data from the Addis Abeba Abattoirs Enterprise, according to the directive. However, that was not applied, and the businesses were paying tax at the fixed rate over the past couple of years.

The revision made last year has pushed up the tax that normal butcheries pay by more than 300pc in some cases, because they now pay taxes based on the market price rather than the old fixed price.

Cooperative meat shops, kebele recreational centres and institutional meat shops must now pay taxes for each head of cattle at 84 times the average retail price of a kilogram of beef in their district. Normal butcheries must now pay taxes calculated at 122 times the average retail price of a kilogram of beef in their district. The Revenues Authority will now revise the market price every six months if it changes.

The latest revision, which was made last year but enacted this year, angered many butcheries and triggered them to close their doors or raise prices.

Tagay Qurt Bet [raw meat shop], which is located in Kirkos District in Gotera, is one of the butcheries that closed its doors after the revision.

Tewodros Bogale founded the shop that has been in business for the past two years. It has been selling an average of four to five cattle a month with three employees.

"Since December 9, 2019, we haven't been selling meat, and the shop is empty," said Biruk Birega, a chief butcher at the meat shop. "We're unhappy about the new tax collection commands."