The final version of Tajikistan’s tax code in new reading practically completed

According to the Tax Committee under the Government of Tajikistan, a working group at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has prepared a new tax code with the involvement of international experts.

The working group members reportedly include representatives of the private sector, development partners, experts and other stakeholders.   

The new tax code reportedly offers many preferences for business, especially for industrial production facilities.

Recall, President Emomali Rahmon initiated development of a new tax code in late May last year.  He ordered to take into consideration interests of business entities and citizens of the country while developing the new tax code.  

The Minister of Finance Faiziddin Qahhorzoda told reporters in Dushanbe on February that the new tax code should be adopted before September this year so that the national budget for 2021 would be worked out on the basis of it.  

Qahhorzoda emphasized that members of the working group for development of the new tax code also included specialists of the World Bank and the working group had taken into consideration proposals of tax payer and representatives of the private sector while developing the new tax code. 

Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020 notes that heavy infrastructure spending has created pressure to mobilize more revenue.  Tax revenue reportedly averaged the equivalent of 22.2% of GDP during 2015–2019 and provided nearly 70% of total revenue, above the average for low-income developing countries.

Much of the burden falls on companies, for which the effective tax rate including required pension and insurance contributions averages 67% for a typical firm, according to the report.  This is more than double the norm for transitional economies in Europe and Central Asia, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 website.

The unfavorable tax regime makes tax compliance costly and time consuming, prompting firms to relocate to neighboring countries. The report says Tajikistan must reconsider how to make its tax policy more business friendly while finding other ways to increase revenue in order to improve the investment climate.