DUSHANBE, March 16, 2012, Asia-Plus — A meeting to discuss a new draft tax code was held in the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (EDT) yesterday.
The meeting that brought together individual entrepreneurs, heads of business communities, experts and journalists, in particular, considered proposals on the new draft tax code offered by entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Sharif Rahimzoda noted that tax collection system functioning in Tajikistan is based on pressure and use of force.
“Of course, tax officers cannot make pressure on relatively large industrial enterprises, banks and other large organizations, which have normal accounting system,” said the minister. “Meanwhile, at lower levels that do not have proper accounting system, collection of taxes depends on mood of tax officers.”
Rahimzoda considers that preparation of the new tax code is also based on the same old system. “It would be good if entrepreneurs introduced normal accounting system,” the minister said.
He stressed that if all organizations had had normal accountancy the number of types of taxes might have been reduced without any problems.
The minister also noted that independent structure was needed to control inspections conducted by tax officers.
According to the data from the Ministry of Finance, they have received more than 2,000 proposals and recommendations from public institutions and non-government organizations and associations so far.
Meanwhile, in a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, Rustam Jabborov, the deputy head of the Tax Committee under the Government of Tajikistan, revealed on January 20 that the number of types of taxes may be reduced in Tajikistan from 21 to 11.
According to him, the working group has already worked out the generality of the new edition of the tax code of the country and “the commission for working out the tax code in new edition is currently considering it.”
“The new edition of the tax code of Tajikistan offers reduction in the number of types of taxes by half — from 21 to 11,” said Jabborov, “However, the number of types of taxes may changes in the special part, elaboration of which will begin straight after discussion of the generality of the code.”
Jabborov noted that the working group has taken into account all proposals as far as possible. “In all, we have received more than 80 proposals from entrepreneurs, tax services, international organizations and other taxpayers.”
We will recall that by government’s decree the Working (WG) for working out the new Tax Code was set up on May 18, 2011 and its members include representatives of the Ministries of Finance, Economic Development and Trade, Finance as well as the Customs Service, the Tax Committee, the State Committee for Investments and State-owned Property Management, the Association of Banks of Tajikistan and the National Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of Tajikistan.
By government’s decree the new edition of the country’s tax code must be prepared by April 1, 2012.
Current tax code that was adopted in 2005 has been repeatedly criticized by international organizations and local entrepreneurs and experts.
