(Business Insider) Pamela Engel - A widening income gap between ISIS fighters and average civilians is breeding resentment among those under ISIS control, Newsweek reports. Some of the cash crunch comes from falling oil prices and airstrikes targeting oil facilities. About 8 million people live in ISIS' caliphate, but a brain drain is also hobbling the ISIS economy. Moreover, with so many people fleeing, there are fewer people for ISIS to tax. Part of ISIS' revenue loss stems from the Iraqi government's decision to stop paying the salaries of government employees working in ISIS-controlled areas. ISIS made hundreds of millions of dollars by imposing taxes of up to 50% on those government salaries.
2015-09-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive