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EU companies wait for deep tax reforms in Azerbaijan

Economy Materials 19 June 2019 17:20 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, June 19

By Matanat Nasibova – Trend:

The European companies operating in Azerbaijan expect the government to carry out further reforms in the tax sphere, according to the report of the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce on the basis of a survey on the business climate among the European companies operating in Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

According to the survey, reforms in the tax field are already yielding positive results.

Twenty-nine percent of the companies estimated the tax system as weak according to the survey in 2018, while the number of people who gave such an estimate decreased to 12 percent in 2019.

The number of European investors who consider the Azerbaijani tax system to be effective increased from 33 percent in 2018 up to 45 percent in 2019.

The respondents gave such a high assessment based on the fundamental restructuring of tax authorities and reforms aimed at ensuring the transparency of tax audits and improving the tax administration system.

The Azerbaijani updated tax legislation envisages incentive measures and the introduction of great tax incentives to support the private sector and entrepreneurship. This is carried out with the aim of expanding the tax base, attracting entrepreneurs to the transparent business, increasing transparency in the economy and fighting against the shadow economy.

However, according to the respondents, the current measures are not enough for making changes in tax legislation more rapidly and the adaptation of the companies to work in the new economic realities. This requires a more active exchange of information and coordination of actions.

The investors see an urgent need to continue to carry out a wide range of tax reforms. EU entrepreneurs stressed that despite the amendments to the country's tax legislation related to double taxation and refund of overpaid taxes, they still face great difficulties in these issues.

As a rule, this is connected to the obstacles and bureaucratic delays from the tax authorities. In this regard, respondents consider it important that the implementation of tax reforms in the country remains the priority of the state agenda this year.

The amendments to the tax legislation have entered into force in Azerbaijan since January 1, 2019. The report of the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce includes the results of a survey of 130 European companies operating in Azerbaijan, as well as personal interviews with representatives of 20 companies involved in 10 leading sectors of the Azerbaijani economy.

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