Press Review 05/19/2016

Elimination of damage from the April War, reducing the number of non-cash payments, corruption and bribery in the public sector are the leading topics of today's press.

The official newspaper Azerbaijan writes about the beginning of reconstruction work in the front-line zone after the four-day war. In the Terter region Armenians destroyed about 300 homes by gunfire. For this purpose, the country's President has allocated money. The author writes about the high morale of the Terter locals especially after the visit of the head of state and his wife.

Azadlig writes about a sharp reduction in non-cash payments, which will take place on. The expert Samir Aliyev says this situation will continue until the elimination of the effects of devaluation. The Financial Market Control House also struck cashless payment by suspending monthly issuance of consumer loans in foreign currency, and then complicating credit conditions. If this continues, the number of credit cards will fall sharply, which inhibits the development of cashless payment.

Echo: Iran offers to lease arable land of Azerbaijan. The proposal was made recently by the Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati when visiting Baku. This sudden idea sparked heated debate among experts who disagree about whether to do it.

Some experts believe that it will be profitable, while others believe that we have enough forces and resources to cultivate the land and invest in agriculture.

Novoye Vremya: Despite the fact that regularly published are data on the growth of budget revenues and the fulfillment of the plan, we have to admit that the situation with the collection of taxes in the budget is far from ideal. There is a paradox: on the one hand, the government reports about fulfillment of the plan, and on the other hand it complains about the lack of tax activity of its citizens.

The reason is that the revenue side of the budget is strongly underestimated. This is recognized by the authorities themselves. Thus, in January-April 2016 the tax revenues from the banking sector declined by more than 30% compared to the previous years, said the Deputy Minister of Taxes Sahib Alekperov.

"The banking sector never had any problems with the payment of taxes. Banks pay their taxes in a timely manner, although there are cases of non-payment of taxes. At the same time tax revenues from the banking sector have decreased, which can be attributed to the situation in this area," said the Deputy Minister.

Therefore, the whole burden of taxation has been laid down on commercial sites. Instead of reforming the economy, the authorities continue to operate using the old methods. The main scourge of Azerbaijani business has been and remains a monopoly and bureaucratic chaos. Moreover, this fact is recognized by the government. Towards the local businessmen many artificial barriers are created, so many people lose their desire to engage in business in Azerbaijan. -0-