Authors of the country’s new draft Tax Code propose to cut the standard value added tax (VAT) rare for non-cash transactions from current 18 percent to 15 percent.
Meanwhile, the standard VAT rate for cash transactions will remain the same – 18 percent.
Moreover, the new draft tax code, which is currently under consideration by the government, provides for gradual reduction in the VAT rate for non-cash transactions and gradual increase in the VAT rate for cash transactions in the future.
Thus, the VAT rate for non-cash transactions is expected to decrease to 14 percent starting from January 1, 2024 and to 13 percent starting from January 1, 2027.
At the same time, the VAT rate for cash dealers will increase to 19 percent and to 20 percent, respectively.
The draft tax code further proposes to set the reduced VAT rate at 5 percent for non-cash transactions and at 8 percent for cash transactions.
Recall, the draft new tax code of Tajikistan has been put up for public discussion and it is available on the website www.itcmf.tj/kodeks
The Finance Ministry notes that the draft tax code is not the final one and nationals of the country may send their proposals and amendments to the mentioned website or in writing to the Ministry of Finance.
President Emomali Rahmon initiated development of a new tax code in late May 2019. He ordered to take into consideration interests of business entities and citizens of the country while developing the new tax code.
The Minister of Finance Faiziddin Qahhorzoda told reporters in Dushanbe in February last year that the new tax code should be adopted before September 2020 so that the national budget for 2021 would be worked out on the basis of it.
Qahhorzoda emphasized that members of the working group for development of the new tax code also included specialists of the World Bank and the working group had taken into consideration proposals of tax payer and representatives of the private sector while developing the new tax code.
In a statement delivered at a joint session of both houses of parliament, President Emomali Rahmon on January 26 ordered relevant ministries and agencies to complete the country’s tax code in new reading until March this year and submit it for consideration to the government.
Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020 notes that heavy infrastructure spending has created pressure to mobilize more revenue. Tax revenue reportedly averaged the equivalent of 22.2% of GDP during 2015–2019 and provided nearly 70% of total revenue, above the average for low-income developing countries.
Much of the burden falls on companies, for which the effective tax rate including required pension and insurance contributions averages 67% for a typical firm, according to the report. This is more than double the norm for transitional economies in Europe and Central Asia, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 website.
The unfavorable tax regime makes tax compliance costly and time consuming, prompting firms to relocate to neighboring countries. The report says Tajikistan must reconsider how to make its tax policy more business friendly while finding other ways to increase revenue in order to improve the investment climate.
