BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 4. Increased
transparency and the formalization of the economy, alongside
economic growth, also yield measurable fiscal results, Chief of
Staff of the Ministry of Economy Elvin Jamalov said today during a
meeting of the parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy, Industry
and Entrepreneurship, where the draft law "On the State Budget of
Azerbaijan for 2027" was presented for its first reading.
He recalled that during the first nine months of the current
year, the tax revenue forecast was met by 107.2%, with the non-oil
and gas sector reaching 102.9%, and 80.6% of the annual forecast
has already been secured.
"Tax receipts increased by 9.4%, while non-oil and gas tax
revenues grew by 12.6%, a rate exceeding the 7.6% nominal growth of
the non-oil and gas GDP. The private sector accounts for 75% of the
revenues from the non-oil and gas sector. The share of non-oil and
gas tax revenues within the state budget's non-oil and gas income
has surpassed 63%.
Mandatory state social insurance contributions rose by 8.5%,
with 5 billion manat ($29.4 billion) collected, achieving 105.6% of
the forecast. The sustained growth in social insurance receipts in
recent years, driven by the increased transparency of the labor
market, contributes significantly to strengthening the financial
sustainability of the State Social Protection Fund (SSPF).
Consequently, the share of state budget allocations within the
SSPF’s total revenue has declined from 36% in 2018 to 20% during
the first nine months of the current year," he explained.
The chief of staff emphasized that one of the most reliable
indicators of the "whitening" process in the economy is the number
of registered taxpayers and business facilities.
"Specifically, since 2018, the number of active taxpayers has
doubled, the number of VAT payers has increased 3.5-fold, and the
number of active business facilities has grown 1.7-fold. This trend
has continued into the current year as well," he added.
