DUSHANBE, February 28, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and business associations have set up a working group to assess amendments made to the country’s Tax Code.

In a report released at a roundtable entitled “Impact of Changes Made to the Tax Code on Social Entrepreneurship Policy of State” in Dushanbe, Konstantin Bondarenko, head of local non-profit organization, Tajikistan Free Market Center, noted on February 26 that the working group is dedicated to assess new rules of charging taxes based on the average monthly salary.

“First of all, lawyers will study all aspects and nuances of taxation under new rules,” Bondarenko said, noting that the Tax Code provisions that require charging social and income taxes based on the average monthly salary may be at variance with articles of the Labor Code and other country’s law.

Besides, new rules may affect employers and lead to decline in entrepreneurial activity in the country, he added.

Organized by Tajikistan Free Market Center and the Business Associations Development Support Center (MIDAT), the roundtable brought together heads of business associations of the country, public association leaders and independent experts to thoroughly discuss a number of new provisions of the Tax Code in order to determine their validity and efficiency and make a decision on carrying out legal and economic examination of those provisions.

We will recall that under new taxation rules, the average monthly salary for organizations, enterprises and private companies in Dushanbe is estimated at 562 somoni.  The highest average monthly salary rate in the country is in the city of Norak – 792 somoni.  In the city of Roghun, the average monthly salary is set at 727 somoni.  In the northern Sughd province, the highest average monthly wage is reported in the city of Khujand – 381 somoni.