TASHKENT, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree on Wednesday to reduce the value-added tax (VAT) rate from the current 20 percent to 15 percent starting from Oct. 1 to liberalize the tax policy.
The decree instructs the government to prepare the draft state budget for 2020 taking into account VAT reduction and the establishment of the basic corporate income tax rate of 15 percent for legal entities. The tax rate on income paid in the form of dividends remains unchanged.
Uzbek Finance Ministry said decreasing the VAT rate will reduce revenues to the state budget by 10 trillion soums (1.05 billion U.S. dollars) a year, or about 2 percent of gross domestic product.
Uzbekistan has been carrying out a range of economic and tax reforms to boost private business and attract foreign investments since Mirziyoyev assumed office in 2016.
