By Trend
The Association of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Uzbekistan has
initiated a discussion of the concept of tax reform in the country,
Uzbekistan News reported.
According to the planned innovations, beginning from January
2019, it has been envisaged to switch over the enterprises
possessing the annual turnover (revenue) for the previous year
exceeding 1 billion soums or having reached the established
threshold within one year, to payment of the generally established
taxes, including VAT (20 percent).
At the same time, the situation is already quite complicated -
this sector has the highest single tax payment. While the
manufacturers pay 5 percent tax and the trade enterprises pay 4
percent tax, the public catering enterprises pay 10 percent
tax.
According to the new concept of tax reform, almost all catering
enterprises will switch to the payment of generally established
taxes (including VAT and income tax).
The representatives of this industry believe that these changes
will entail extremely negative consequences. In case of paying a
summed-up tax at the rate of 30 percent, half of the catering
establishments will close down, and the remaining half will be
forced to raise prices substantially.
In addition, the members of the association drew attention to
the fact that at present, the activities of restaurants
specializing in the development and popularization of Uzbek cuisine
are mistakenly viewed outside the sphere of tourism. Meanwhile,
just the gastronomic tourism is the most promising branch of
tourism for attracting guests to the country.
The Association of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Uzbekistan
proposes to establish a working group for development of a system
of transparent functioning of the sector, to arrange a productive
dialogue between government and business circles.
Moreover, it is noted that this sector does not need benefits
and preferences. The restaurateurs insist on a differentiated
approach to VAT, adopted in many developed countries.
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