A meeting of the UzLiDeP faction was held at the Legislative chamber of the Oliy Majlis.

Deputies considered the drafts State Budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan and budgets of state trust funds, as well as discussed the main areas of the tax and budget policy for 2018.

At the meeting, the participants based on the election program of UzLiDeP determined the position of the faction. The Party's election platform pays special attention to ensuring the balance of the state budget, further reducing the tax burden on the economy and business entities, eliminating inefficient tax benefits, improving tax administration, implementing a consistent monetary policy aimed at ensuring the stability of the financial market, strengthening the revenue base of local budgets and increasing their autonomy, simplification of the whole tax system and ensuring its clarity.

It was noted at the meeting that the main directions of improving the budget and tax policy for 2018 were formed on the basis of the priority tasks outlined in the Strategy of Action on five priority areas of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021. The main directions of the tax policy for 2018 were discussed, providing for further reduction of the tax burden on business entities and incomes of the population, increasing incomes of local budgets. A reduction in the tax burden on individuals’ incomes due to an increase in the amount of deductions to individual savings accounts of citizens from 1 percent to 2 percent, reduction of fixed tax rates for individual entrepreneurs is proposed. It is also proposed to reduce the number of taxes and other mandatory payments by combining taxes and payments having the same tax base.

Members of the faction emphasized that the measures aimed at improving the efficiency of budget planning for 2018, achieve high results in their use and improving the inter-budgetary relations. It was emphasized that in 2018 the revenues of the State Budget will be 62.2 trillion soums or 21.4 percent of GDP. Revenues to the state budget will increase by 25.9 percent according to nominal growth of GDP. In forecasting revenues directly from taxes, the consolidation of the profit tax with taxes for improvement and development of social infrastructure was taken into account.

Members of the faction paid special attention to the issue related to the costs of maintaining water facilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources in the amount of 2 741.8 billion soums, which make up the bulk of the economy's expenditures. At the same time, it is planned to determine the growth by 9.4 percent relative to the current year, or 0.9 percent of GDP.

The fund of meliorative improvement of irrigated lands is planned to direct almost 553.4 billion soums to improve the reclamation state of the land.

It is noteworthy that as a result of the implementation of these measures the improvement of the reclamation condition of 276.0 thousand hectares of irrigated lands, increase of agricultural yields and increase of incomes of farms were achieved.

At the end of the meeting on the main issue of the agenda and discussions, the UzLiDeP faction took the appropriate decision.