BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. One of the most comprehensive steps taken to address the shadow economy in Azerbaijan was the wage reform, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov said in an interview with Azerbaijan Television (AZTV) channel, Trend reports.
"As part of this reform, the state decided to exempt the income from the wages of employees of the private non-oil sector from income tax for seven years. This decision contributed to increased transparency and accountability among employers and employees," Jabbarov noted.
According to him, a systematic step in this direction is the introduction of online cash registers and the parallel launch of the VAT refund program.
"Tax revenues are one of the main indicators for measuring the shadow economy. So, in the first half of 2022, tax revenues from the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan increased by 49 percent compared to the same period last year. The total tax revenues from the non-oil sector in the first half of this year equal to the volume of tax revenues in 2017-2018, which reflects the volume of work done in this direction," added the minister.