DUSHANBE, January 11, 2013, Asia-Plus -- Tajikistan has reportedly canceled a 3-percent retail sales tax (RST).

An official source at the Tax Committee under the Government of Tajikistan says the decision on canceling the RST took effect on January 1, 2013.

Besides, the rate of the highway user tax will be reduced from current 2.5 percent to 1.25 percent by 2015 and this tax will be canceled in 2017, the source noted.

The rate of the income tax for producers will fall from current 15 percent to 13 percent in 2017 and the rate of the income tax for other categories of taxpayers will fall from current 25 percent to 23 percent in 2017.

We will recall that President Emomali Rahmon signed the new edition of the country’s code on September 17, 2012.  The new tax code is expected to be introduced gradually from 2013 to 2017.

The number of articles in the Tax Code of Tajikistan was reduced from 271 to 229 and the new Tax Code offers the considerable reduction in the number of types of taxes by half -- from 21 to 10.  Retail sales tax and highway use tax were abolished, while some types of taxes were unified.

For the purpose of supporting domestic producers the new tax code provides for exempting all the imported state-of-the-art equipment and technologies for production of commodities and services from paying value added tax (VAT) and customs duties.  Besides, domestic enterprises dealing with processing wool, leather and farm produce will be exempted from paying all types of taxes during the first five years since they are launched irrespective of forms of property.

According to data from the Tax Committee, there are some 126,000 taxpayers in Tajikistan: 40,000 of them work under patents; 26,999 others are legal entities; and 60,000 others work under certificates.