The share of tax revenues to the state budget of Tajikistan in the first quarter of this year amounted to 61%, the Ministry of Finance announced, Asiaplustj.info reports.
In the same period of 2022, taxes formed 69.8% of state budget revenues. The decrease in the tax share for the year amounted to almost 9%.
The "main wallet" of the country in the first quarter of this year received taxes in the amount of more than 5.8 billion somoni, which is 7.2% more than the revised plan. About 68% of tax revenues to the budget came from VAT (2.4 billion somoni) and income tax (over 1.5 billion somoni).
The total volume of the state budget of Tajikistan in the first quarter of this year amounted to over 9.5 billion somoni (slightly more than $870 million), which is 5.7% more than the revised plan.
Specialists expected that the Tax Code of Tajikistan, which has been in force since 2022, will initially lead to a reduction in the share of taxes in budget revenues, as some rates have been reduced.
World Bank economists in a recent report noted that Tajikistan's budget deficit in 2022 was covered mainly by external financing.
"The shortfall was partially offset by grants from development partners and higher non-tax revenues," the WB report says.
Analysts from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund recommended that the government of Tajikistan phase out numerous tax incentives.
"This could broaden the tax base and reduce disparities," the Tajikistan Public Expenditure Review said.
According to the Tax Committee of Tajikistan, the state budget was unable to receive payments in the amount of 3.8 billion somoni (more than $370 million) in 2022 due to tax incentives. This amount is equal to a quarter of last year's tax revenues to the budget.
In 2022, the state budget of Tajikistan received about 15.4 billion somoni ($1.5 billion) from internal taxes and other obligatory payments.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
May 29, 2023