President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation on improving tax administration and reforming the sector on April 6. It was noted that over the past two years, the tax base has expanded and budget revenues have grown rapidly, but this growth is largely achieved by reducing the shadow economy. By 2030, revenues are planned to reach 491.5 trillion soums, requiring a significant increase from the current state.

The meeting highlighted that the main reserve for increasing tax revenues is the shadow economy. The President tasked the implementation of "smart" control based on digital analysis and artificial intelligence to provide an additional 30 trillion soums in budget revenue this year. This new system aims to address the issue of underutilized opportunities due to incomplete control in markets and shopping complexes, as well as insufficient digitization efforts.

Data shows that over 72,000 retail trade entities operate in markets, with more than 38,000 reporting a monthly turnover of less than 1 million soums, and over 40,000 issuing only 2-3 receipts per day. Additionally, rental contracts for 12,000 market stalls have not been accounted for, resulting in 37,000 entrepreneurs paying less than 500,000 soums in taxes per month. These figures indicate the widespread nature of the shadow economy and the resulting decline in tax revenues.

The meeting also discussed the issue of servicing large non-strategic taxpayers at the regional level. It was noted that 209,000 VAT payers are located far from tax authorities, reducing the efficiency of service and control. In this regard, it was proposed to transfer control of 500 non-strategic enterprises to the regional level and over 103,000 agricultural, trade, and catering enterprises to the district level, which will improve on-site service quality.

Furthermore, the need to simplify tax administration, automate reporting, and reduce inspections was emphasized. The new system aims to reduce entrepreneurs' costs and reform the tax system based on the principle of "from inspection to service," as part of broader efforts to develop the economy.

Source: www.gazeta.uz