Who has called a tax jinni?

A taxi driver called his brother and happily reported that a simplified tax – 4% of the turnover for non-VAT payers, had been abolished. ‘Now my brother will be able to trade freely – the driver explains. – He brings fruit from Khudat (a city in northern part of Azerbaijan – editor’s note). There was usually little sum left from what he was earning. Now, a new law has been passed and the tax has been abolished.’

Unfortunately, nothing actually happened to the tax rates. The president’s new decree, dated 26 October, actually simply explains what inspections the governmental agencies are entitled to conduct, and what are not.

Each enterprise closure will be considered – the tax service shall notify the MEP (Ministry of Economy and Industry) on the aforesaid, the MEP, in turn, shall find out the reasons and, if any violations are revealed, shall involve the prosecutor’s office.

This novelty aims to protect businessmen from extortion and bribery, which traditionally accompanies tax and other inspections. The strategic goal is to facilitate the development of small and medium-size business in Azerbaijan. All inspections have been suspended for two years, starting from 1 November.

Everything started with President Ilham Aliyev’s speech at the Cabinet of Ministers’ meeting, on 12 October. The President criticized state agencies, torturing entrepreneurs by inspections, as well as monopolists and corrupt officials.
Citizens, who kept up with the news, concluded that the Tax Ministry fell out of favor. It was followed by a burst of enthusiasm, which lasted until people have finally understood that taxes, as well as inspections, were not abolished, but were rather reduced to a reasonable minimum.

When asked ‘what does this novelty mean to you?’ an entrepreneur from Baku, who preferred to remain anonymous, answered by a kind of parable:
‘Once a guy found a lamp with a jinn. He rubbed the lamp, the jinn came out and told him he would fulfill his three wishes. The guy told the jinn:
– I wish, the black horses would run from here to there in our neighborhood.
The jinn fulfilled his wish. Then the second wish:
– I wish, the white horses would run from there to here in our neighborhood.
The jinn was surprised, but he fulfilled the wish.
– Then the third wish. ‘What kind of wishes he has. Maybe he will wish something more reasonable this time’ the jinn thought.
– I wish, the black horses would run from here to there, and the white horses would run from there to here and they would collide.
The jinn fulfilled the last wish and finally asked:
– What’s the sense of it?
The guy replied:
– No sense, the main thing is to have a real heavy action in our neighborhood.’