«We fear that the decision of the Security Council of Kyrgyzstan dated January 30, 2019 on measures to ensure safety in the sphere of subsoil use will lead to suspension or complete cessation of work of bona fide subsoil users,» Executive Director of the International Business Council Askar Sydykov told at a press conference today.
According to him, there are many positive points in the decision of the Security Council, for example, automation of the licensing process and increase of confidence in investor. But there are also unfavorable initiatives that can harm the sector.
«First of all, it is the tax burden increase. The Security Council proposed raising almost all types of taxes — on income, royalties, fees for withholding licenses, bonuses. Measures on check of all licenses issued earlier and investigation of cases, related to subsoil use, are causing concern. Even without this, there are numerous inspections by law enforcement, supervisory and regulatory authorities in the industry. After all, the subsoil users were not included in the moratorium on business inspections,» the head of the council said.
Askar Sydykov stressed that they were also concerned about some recommendations on intervention in economic activity, for example, the calculation of excess losses, the calculation of the financial and economic profitability model.
«This is not done in the world. Only the tax burden is determined, and a company does all the rest at its own discretion,» he added.
