Tax Ministry: Tax reforms in Azerbaijan aim at supporting entrepreneurs
By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade
There were positive changes in the tax system of Azerbaijan in 2018, which were the result of deep economic reforms carried out in the country, Director General of the Tax Policy Department of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Taxes Samira Musayeva said, Trend reports.
Musayeva noted that the changes in the Tax Code covered several areas, particularly business support, fight against tax evasion and shadow economy, and the improvement of tax administration.
"It is planned to impose financial sanctions in cases of employment without concluded employment contracts, so as to eliminate shadow economy and reduce cases of tax evasion," she said.
Musayeva noted that the amendments to the Tax Code, aimed at combating shadow economy and increasing the transparency of the economy, suggest a significant reduction in the tax burden on the population in the form of income tax and the application of financial sanctions for the turnover of undeclared goods. Musayeva stressed that reducing the simplified tax from 4 to 2 percent will expand the possibilities of micro and small businesses.
Earlier, Azerbaijani Tax Minister Mikail Jabbarov also mentioned elimination of shadow economy in Azerbaijan and added that it will be one of the priorities that will be given special attention in 2019.
He said that last year, understatement of turnover totaling 930 million manats were revealed in major wholesale enterprises, 122 million manats in market chains and more than 230 million manats in private medical institutions of Azerbaijan.
Our primary function is to identify all such facts and bring the enterprises to taxation, the minister said.
The shadow economy contributes to the emergence of various negative factors, he noted.
“Despite that tangible results were achieved in the fight against this problem, we must continue measures in this direction,” he added. “For this reason, reduction of the shadow economy in 2018 was the priority direction for tax services. Entrepreneurs were given time so that they renew their accounting, extensive educational work was carried out. Control over some sectors was also increased, for example, in the sale of goods, in the medical services sector and in shopping center chains.”
In 2018, major changes occurred in the activity of the tax authorities. The structure of the tax authorities was reformed, dramatic changes were made in the personnel section and negative points that occurred earlier were eliminated, he noted.
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