Tajikistan has increased the collection of taxes from foreign online services. In 2025, they paid about $1.5 million into the budget, and tax officials expect further growth in revenues.
More than 40 foreign companies providing remote electronic services in Tajikistan have registered with the country’s tax authorities. VAT revenues from such companies increased to 14 million somoni in 2025 from 10.7 million somoni in 2024, and the Tax Committee expects this revenue to increase even more in 2026.
According to the agency, as of April 1, 2026, more than 40 foreign companies have registered electronically for tax purposes in Tajikistan. These are providers of online services that receive income from users in Tajikistan but do not have a permanent place of business in the country.
These services include, in particular, access to software and computer games, electronic books, audio and video content, internet advertising services, online platform services, hosting, domain names, data storage and processing, website administration, access to search engines, and internet statistics management.
The Tax Committee noted that foreign providers of such services can register online with Tajikistan’s tax authorities as VAT payers, submit electronic reports, and calculate and pay taxes to the budget.
Who Pays Taxes for Netflix and Google
According to the Committee, if a foreign company provides electronic services to individuals in Tajikistan, including individual entrepreneurs, the foreign company itself is recognized as the taxpayer. However, if services are provided to legal entities or permanent establishments of foreign legal entities in Tajikistan, the purchasers of these services act as tax agents.
The Tax Committee emphasized that virtual meetings were held with representatives of major international companies providing electronic services, with the assistance of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Among these companies, the agency mentioned Amazon, Apple Distribution International Limited, Adobe Systems Software Ireland Limited, Booking.com, Google, Facebook, Netflix, and others.
During these meetings, the companies were explained the requirements of Tajikistan’s legislation, the procedure for electronic registration through the taxpayer’s personal account on the Tax Committee’s website, as well as the rules for submitting reports and paying taxes.
Additionally, since 2021, the Tax Committee has been sending explanatory letters to such companies in several stages about the changes made to the tax legislation and the possibility of electronic registration with the tax authorities. According to the agency, no appeals from foreign companies regarding difficulties related to registration, taxation of services, or other issues have been received by the tax authorities.
At the same time, the Tax Committee clarified that not all services ordered via the internet are considered electronic. For instance, the sale of goods or the performance of work is not considered electronic if the order is placed online but the delivery of the goods or the provision of the service occurs without the use of the internet. Also, the sale of software and games on physical media, consultations via email, and services providing internet access are not considered electronic services.
In simpler terms, if the internet was only used to place the order, and the product or service is received in a conventional manner (for example, via delivery or offline), such a transaction is not considered an electronic service. Subsequently, such a transaction is taxed according to general rules.
What Questions Did the Tax Committee Not Answer?
On this topic, “Asia-Plus” sent 11 questions to the Tax Committee, but half of them remained unanswered. In particular, we wanted to know:
– What was the total amount of revenues to the state budget from the “Google tax” for the years 2021-2025?
– How do the actual revenues from this tax compare to the initial forecasts and expectations?
– How does the “Google tax” affect end consumers in Tajikistan (for example, in terms of service prices and accessibility for users)?
– Have there been any cases of non-compliance by taxpayers, and what measures are being taken by the Tax Committee to address them?
– Does the Tax Committee plan to expand or change the rules of taxation in the digital economy, for example, to cover additional types of services or change tax rates?
– How do you assess the effectiveness of this taxation mechanism in the context of the digital transformation of Tajikistan’s economy?
