Social tax threshold doubled for self-employed under business regulation overhaul

Uzbekistan has increased the minimum amount of social tax paid by self-employed individuals under amendments signed into law by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as part of broader efforts to streamline business regulations and improve social protection mechanisms.

The changes were introduced through a law amending and supplementing several legislative acts aimed at eliminating regulatory norms that create unnecessary administrative burdens for entrepreneurs.

Under amendments to the Law on Employment, self-employed individuals will now be required to voluntarily pay social tax in an amount not less than one basic calculation value (BCV), currently set at UZS 412,000. Previously, the minimum threshold was set at 50% of the BCV, or UZS 206,000.

The law clarifies that social tax payments made by self-employed individuals will be counted toward their length of service, provided the tax is paid in accordance with statutory requirements. The full amount of the social tax will be transferred to the extra-budgetary Pension Fund under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Based on these contributions, pension entitlements for self-employed persons will be calculated in line with the rules applied to individual entrepreneurs.

In addition to tax-related changes, the legislation introduces amendments affecting other areas of economic regulation. In particular, state forestry authorities are now permitted to lease unused land from the forest fund to individuals and legal entities through electronic online auctions, granting rights of use on a lease basis.

Changes have also been made to the Economic Procedural Code, allowing the suspension of licenses or permits for certain types of business activities for periods exceeding 10 days but not longer than six months. Previously, the law only allowed for suspensions of more than 10 working days without specifying an upper limit.

Officials say the reforms are intended to reduce procedural uncertainty for businesses, encourage formalization of self-employment, and strengthen the link between tax contributions and future pension rights.