TASHKENT, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree to reduce the share of the shadow economy in the coutry and improve the efficiency of tax authorities, the state tax committee said Thursday.
"The implementation of the measures identified by the decree will help to reduce the share of the shadow economy by an average of 30 percent in the medium term," the press service of the tax committee said in a statement.
A special commission and territorial commissions will be formed to oversee the implementation of the measures, and tax requirements for business entities will be simplified and tax burden reduced from next year, it said.
The turnover tax rate for real estate agents will be cut from 25 to 13 percent, businesses in the catering and construction sectors will also have simplified measures to register payments, according to the decree.
The Uzbek president instructed the country's government earlier this year to reduce the shadow economy through measures such as rating the corruption level of state bodies and enterprises.
Mirziyoyev's office said the level of informal employment in construction, trade and public catering, transport and other sectors remains high, adding that overall, only 4.9 million out of 10.5 million people employed across the country pay income tax.
Since Mirziyoyev took office in 2016, Uzbekistan has taken a series of measures to promote economic reforms, including liberalizing its foreign exchange market, reducing taxes and offering preferential treatment to foreign investment. Enditem
