Uzbekistan’s President Accuses Tashkent Tax Authorities of Patronage and Corruption Leading to Budget Losses

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev sharply criticized the work of Tashkent’s tax authorities, describing it as “absolutely unsatisfactory” and pointing to systemic patronage and corruption that have resulted in significant losses to the state budget.

Speaking at a meeting on 27 January, the president reported that the volume of shadow and unmonitored economic activity in the capital has reached 60 trillion soums. According to him, this leads to annual budget losses of approximately 7.5 trillion soums. Solely due to the concealment of production and sales by excise taxpayers, the state has lost 66 billion soums.

Mirziyoyev noted that the capital’s tax authorities have effectively failed in countering the shadow economy and ensuring efficient tax administration. In particular, nearly 30,000 value-added tax (VAT) payers did not pay “a single soum” during the reporting period. In the trade, service, and public catering sectors, about a quarter of cash registers are either unused or used only formally.

The president also pointed out that certain tax officials, instead of increasing budget revenues, engaged in patronage of so-called entrepreneurs. Inspections in Tashkent revealed that taxes totaling 70 billion soums were not charged. Over the past two years, 19 employees of the city’s tax authorities have faced criminal prosecution for corruption, with total budget damage amounting to 27 billion soums.

Special attention was given to the situation in the Mirzo-Ulugbek district. Last week, the head of the district tax inspectorate, D. Usmanov, was dismissed and is now under criminal investigation. Authorities report that he used part of the inspectorate building for personal purposes, renting out premises and misappropriating 315 million soums. He is also accused of establishing a system of “clique governance” based on mutual protection and making decisions in the interests of a narrow circle, as well as leading an inappropriate lifestyle.

Mirziyoyev emphasized that such cases indicate deeply entrenched problems within the system and require decisive personnel and institutional reforms aimed at restoring the rule of law, increasing transparency, and genuinely reducing the shadow economy.