Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The 54th plenary session of the Senate considered sending a parliamentary inquiry to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan regarding certain issues related to labor activity under self-employment.

In 2020, the institution of self-employment was introduced in our country to more broadly involve the population in entrepreneurial activities and create additional conditions for lawful labor activities.

The Senate Committee on Women’s Issues and Gender Equality, based on public appeals, studied the state of work regarding the calculation of necessary work experience for pensions through self-employment, particularly focusing on the payment of social taxes by citizens.

The system of self-employment is regulated by the Law "On Employment of the Population," the Tax Code, the Presidential Decree from 8 June 2020, "On Measures to Simplify State Regulation of Entrepreneurial Activities and Self-Employment," and other regulatory acts.

Currently, there are over 100 types of activities (jobs, services) that self-employed individuals can engage in in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

According to the Tax Code, incomes earned by self-employed individuals through labor activities are not included in the aggregate income of individuals.

In accordance with Article 408 of the Tax Code, for the calculation of work experience, a tax of at least one basic calculation value per year is voluntarily paid. Additionally, under this article, self-employed individuals pay a social tax by December 1 of the reporting year.

The number of self-employed individuals has increased over the first six months of the current year.

Public appeals and analysis have shown that there are some issues within the system. Specifically, only 13% of those registered from 2020 to 2023 have paid the social tax.

Furthermore, although financial assistance has been allocated from the Fund for the Promotion of Population Entrepreneurship, totaling 313 billion soums to nearly 65,000 citizens included in the "Women’s Notebook" and "Youth Notebook," and a source of income has been created, the level of social tax payment by these citizens remains low.

From this, it can be concluded that non-payment of social taxes by self-employed citizens will lead to a reduction in their social security in the future and deprive them of the right to receive old-age pensions.

In cases where self-employed individuals pay taxes less than one basic calculation value, their work experience for the corresponding year is not counted, and there is currently no practice of refunding the paid tax amount to the taxpayer.

Informal labor not only has a serious negative impact on the country’s economy but also jeopardizes the lives and health of people, leaving them without social protection in old age or disability.

As per Article 408 of the Tax Code, self-employed individuals are required to make payments by December 1 of the reporting year. In practice, individuals who pay taxes after this date (from December 1 to 31) do not have their work experience calculated for the corresponding year.

The parliamentary inquiry sent to the Cabinet of Ministers requests solutions to issues concerning the population, creation of additional conditions for lawful labor activities, and provision of facilities for self-employed individuals.

Following discussions, a corresponding resolution was adopted by the Senate.