Azernews.Az

The government of Uzbekistan has extended tax breaks for enterprises with private foreign investment, in a decree published on Tuesday, RIA Novosti reported.

Under a 2005 decree, enterprises in Uzbekistan with direct foreign investment and a charter capital of over $150,000 are exempt from paying taxes on profit, property, urban development, improvement of social infrastructure and payments to the road construction fund. The exemptions are valid from three to seven years depending on the amount of foreign investment.

Tax exemptions will now be extended to enterprises with a minimum 30 percent direct private foreign investment in 20 industries, up from eight previously. The new businesses on the list include construction of renewable energy power stations, packing material production, and the petrochemical industry.

In addition, the decree stipulates that a company must be at least 33 percent owned by a foreign partner to apply for the tax breaks, down from the previous minimum 50 percent. The new regulations also allow such enterprises to reinvest only a minimum 50 percent of profit made by exemption from taxes, down from the previous 100 percent.

The new regulations only apply to those enterprises located outside the capital, Tashkent, and the Tashkent region.