The national budget for 2020 projects nearly 10 percent rise in tax receipts.
In 2020, tax receipts are expected to amount to 17.9 billion somoni, which is 1.6 billion somoni more than this year.
Next year, taxes are expected to account for some 70 percent of the budget revenues, which is projected to stand 26.1 billion somoni.
The Tajik authorities plan to increase tax receipts mainly by increasing collection of the value added tax (VAT), profit tax and income tax.
The authorities plan to increase the collection of VAT, profit tax and income tax by 512 million somoni, 232 million somoni and 230 million somoni respectively.
Earlier this year, the Tajik authorities noted that they plan to increase the budget revenues annually on average by 10 percent through taxes.
Fiscal bodies say the tax receipts increase naturally every year due to opening of new enterprises and creation of new jobs.
Meanwhile, local experts consider that there are no real preconditions for increasing tax receipts. According to them, the tax receipts could be raised only through raising tax burden and fining businesses.
A high-ranking source told Asia-Plus in April on the basis of anonymity that the government every year sets the economic growth rate at 7.0 percent.
“But the growth rates of agrarian and industrial sectors have been low in recent years, and therefore, we have to achieve the planned GDP growth rate through raising tax burden,” the source said.
To achieve the economic growth rate set by the government, the tax authorities raise the tax rates “where it is still possible, and first of all for business.”
In late October, the Tax Committee under the Government of Tajikistan sent a letter to relevant ministries and agencies, proposing news sources to supplement the budget.
