President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting at the State Tax Committee on the tasks for improving the tax sphere.

In recent years, the tax administration has been actively reformed in the country. In December 2019, a new version of the Tax Code was adopted, which introduced direct action norms. The number of types of taxes has been reduced from 13 to 9. The property tax rate has been reduced from 5 to 1.5 percent, and the value-added tax – from 20 to 15 percent. The tax burden on wages has been reduced by almost 2 times.

Entrepreneurs’ confidence in the reforms has been strengthened, and tax revenues have quadrupled. The number of VAT payers increased from 6 to 152 thousand.

The new Development Strategy sets out tasks to continue these reforms, as well as to further reduce the tax burden on the economy and simplify tax procedures.

“We proclaimed the principle of exalting human honor and dignity, we are working to improve the well-being of the people. When will our people be satisfied? When there will be fewer taxes, and incomes will grow”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

By 2026 it is planned to reduce the tax burden on the economy to 25 percent. It is also planned to reduce the rate of value-added tax to 12 percent from 2023, in the future – unify land tax and property tax.

At the meeting, the responsible persons reported on the activities carried out in the sphere.

The Head of the state noted the need for improving the work of tax authorities, for which it is necessary to widely introduce information technologies.

This will contribute to the full automation of business processes, the elimination of tax barriers, the reduction of the shadow economy, and the strengthening of human resources.

The President noted the need for ensuring the stability of tax revenues and supporting entrepreneurs in the current rapidly changing, difficult situation in the world.

“I came here as a representative of the taxpayers”, the President said. “Income growth is not the main thing. First of all, we need to set up the system correctly, teach, reduce the tax burden, and provide entrepreneurs with conditions for free, honest work. Tax officials should not be punishers, but helpers.

It was noted that in some cases entrepreneurs have many questions also because they do not understand how to work with new programs and requirements. In this regard, it was noted that, based on the principle of “Taxman – Assistant”, it is necessary to explain to businesses how to work according to the new rules, expand the coverage of entrepreneurs with electronic services. The Tax Committee was instructed to hold meetings with entrepreneurs in all regions, as well as report to the people through the media.

It was noted that the tax system should actively participate in the transformation of state-owned enterprises, focusing on cost reduction and financial stability.

As is known, under the resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan of November 4, 2020, the Fiscal Institute was established under the State Tax Committee. The Head of the state drew attention to the insufficient level of personnel training. The importance of training tax officials on new IT solutions being introduced into the system, as well as improving the skills of specialists abroad, was noted.

Tasks for the transformation of the tax authorities into a system free from corruption were defined.