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.
