Eldar Tajibaev noted that three years ago, about 73% of the working-age population of the country was employed in the informal sector without official labor contracts. Referring to statistics from the National Statistical Committee, the expert pointed out that among approximately 3 million workers, there were only about 450 thousand formal labor agreements, as well as around 500 thousand individual entrepreneurs and workers operating under patents. "Thus, out of 3 million, only 2 million people had official employment," he emphasized.
According to Tajibaev, currently more than half of the employed population in the country works legally. This is linked to government initiatives, including a reduction in insurance contribution rates 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 noted by the expert is the mechanism by which income tax is calculated based on the average salary rather than actual income. As an example, he cited the situation in Bishkek: with an average salary of 44,000 soms, the income tax would amount to 4,400 soms. "Even if the actual salary is 10,000 soms, 1,000 soms will be withheld from it, and the remaining 3,400 will be added," Tajibaev explained.
He emphasized that such a system reduces incentives for maintaining "double bookkeeping" and encourages employers to officially register their employees. "Many employers come to us for help in legalizing their workers, as there is no point in hiding their employment now," he added.
