As Tajibaev noted, three years ago, 73% of workers were in the informal sector without official employment contracts. He cited data from the National Statistical Committee, according to which out of about 3 million working-age population, only 450 thousand had formal employment contracts, as well as around 500 thousand individual entrepreneurs and those working under patents. "Thus, only 2 million people out of 3 million were officially employed," the expert added.
Currently, according to Tajibaev's estimates, more than half of the employed population has official employment. This is related to new government measures, including a reduction in insurance contributions from 27.25% to 12.25% (where the employer pays 2.25%, and the employee pays 10% of the total amount of payments).
Another important factor, in his opinion, is the practice of withholding income tax based on the average salary rather than actual payments. As an example, he cited Bishkek, where with an average salary of 44 thousand soms, the income tax would amount to 4.4 thousand soms. "If the salary is 10 thousand soms, then 1 thousand soms will be withheld, and the remaining 3.4 thousand will be additionally charged," Tajibaev explained.
He emphasized that such a system reduces incentives for maintaining "double accounting" and encourages employers to officially register their employees. "Many employers come to us for help in legalizing their employees, as they understand that there is no longer any point in hiding. We are actively addressing this issue," the expert added.
