Author: Tatyana Gracheva
Georgia’s Economic Vision presentation during 17th Silk Road Tax Forum
The ‘17th Silk Road Tax Forum’ was held in Tbilisi at the joint initiative of the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance and the International Tax and Investment Center on 10-11 April, 2025. During the event, Lasha Khutsishvili, the Georgian Minister of Finance, pointed out the critical role of interactions within taxation for all countries along the historical Silk Road.
He also stressed the need of institutional reforms for development of a dynamic economy and improved investor relations for stricter fiscal discipline. According to Khutsishvili, the same Georgian tax system with its low taxes, provides modern methods of taxation along with customs administration.
They also discussed investments in strategic infrastructure projects such as roads, ports, energy transmission lines, digital connectivity and the importance of increasing the efficiency of tax administration and sharing international experience in this regard.
As Minister Lasha Khutsishvili stated, the Ministry of Finance approved the country’s first medium-term revenue strategy (2025–2030) at the end of last year, and the Georgian Revenue Service has updated and published a strategy for 2025-2030. Notably, Georgia is a candidate for EU membership and a full member of the European Union tax program (FISCALIS) program. It was one of the first nations to adopt base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).
Additionally, Georgia takes part in several forums such as the Global Forum of the Organization for European Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Intra-European Organization of European Tax Administrations (IOTA), and Union of Tax Administrations of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRITACOM).
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Read moreThere are more unemployed in Kazakhstan than in Russia
According to data from the Eurasian Economic Commission, there are more than 330,000 unemployed people in Kazakhstan (3.5% of the total workforce), the only country in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) where the number of unemployed people has increased over the year. The increase over the year was 3.2% (27,000 people).
Meanwhile, the number of unemployed people has been decreasing in other EEU countries. Only 0.4% of the total workforce are officially unemployed in Russia (283,000 people), and their number decreased by 0.1% over a year.
The number of unemployed in Kyrgyzstan decreased from 65,100 to 48,400 people over the year (2.4% versus 1.7%) and by 8,600 people in Armenia (from 45,700 to 37,100, or 3.4% versus 2.8%).
The smallest number of unemployed people is in Belarus— 3,300 or 0.1% of the total labor force. 1,000 people found a job in the country over the year.
Totally, 704,900 or 0.8% of people were unemployed in the EEU member states at the end of February (a 14.8% downfall compared to the same date in 2024).
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Read moreThe number of employers hiring Ukrainians in Poland has decreased: details
In 2025, the share of employers hiring Ukrainians in Poland decreased significantly. Find out what trends are observed in the labor market, where Ukrainians work most often, their salaries, and who are the new competitors The Polish labor market demonstrates changes in the dynamics of employment of Ukrainians. According to the latest survey by the […]
Read moreWorkforce leaving, economy suffering – Serbia in search of a solution
Behind the rapid economic growth lie deep structural issues within the labour market. Income inequality, an outflow of the workforce abroad, and a lack of skilled workers are increasingly threatening the sustainability of growth and the position of domestic employers. According to the March 2025 Macroeconomic Analyses and Trends report, Serbia recorded a real GDP […]
Read moreKazakhstan reports more unemployed than Russia
Kazakhstan has become the only country in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) where the number of unemployed people has increased over the year, according to data from the Eurasian Economic Commission. As of the end of February, more than 333,000 unemployed people were officially registered in Kazakhstan. This represents 3.5% of the total workforce in […]
Read more17th Silk Road Tax Forum: Highlights Georgia’s Economic Vision
Lasha Khutsishvili, the Georgian Minister of Finance, gave a speech during the ‘17th Silk Road Tax Forum’, held at the joint initiative of the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance and the International Tax and Investment Center on 10-11 April, 2025. In his speech, he pointed out the critical role of interactions within taxation […]
Read moreEmployment tax incentives valid until the end of 2025
There have been various tax and social relief measures for employers hiring specific categories of workers in Serbia for several years now.
In general, the Personal Income Tax Act, the Social Security Contributions Act, and other by-laws define the conditions and procedures for claiming one of these seven tax relief measures. They extend two of them on a yearly basis, one is valid until the end of 2025, while four are unlimited.
Notably, an individual with whom an employer has signed an employment contract and who is registered for mandatory social security in the CROSO system is called a “newly employed person”. Nevertheless, if an employer affiliated with the current employer previously employed the person or the person is working for a currently existing affiliated entity, such employee is not a newly employed person.
According to tax advisor Svetlana Serafijanović, it is possible to use only one of the available tax incentives at a time throughout the entire duration of the measure.
Particularly, they apply tax incentives for hiring individuals from the National Employment Service (NES) to employers hiring individuals who were previously unemployed and registered with the NES.
Then, founders of companies engaged in innovation who employ themselves within their own enterprise can use tax incentives for hiring founders of innovation companies. The founders’ own company must employ them, and they must hold at least a five percent ownership stake. Moreover, legal entities must not have been affiliated by the employer or they must not generate more than 30 percent of their revenue.
This incentive fully exempts the employer from payroll tax and social security contributions for 36 months from the date of company establishment, with a maximum gross salary exemption of 150,000 dinars per month.
To use incentives for employees engaged in research and development (R&D), the employee must directly conduct research and development activities, excluding administrative or supervisory roles.
As tax advisor Serafijanović explains, the employer who is a legal entity conducting research and development within its operations for its own needs gets a 70 percent exemption from payroll tax and a full exemption from pension and disability insurance contributions till the end of the research project.
Next, highly qualified professionals relocating to Serbia for employment who have not predominantly resided in the country in the past two years and have a monthly gross salary exceeding 393,855 dinars can use incentives for newly relocated employees.
Finally, employees under the age of 40 returning to Serbia after studying abroad with the minimum gross monthly salary of 262,570 dinars get a 70 percent reduction in the tax and social security contribution base for five years from the date of signing the employment contract.
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Read moreAVERAGE MONTHLY NOMINAL EARNINGS OF EMPLOYEES (IV QUARTER, 2024)
In the IV quarter of 2024, the average monthly nominal earnings in Georgia increased by 8.5 percent (173.0 GEL) compared to the same quarter of the previous year and amounted to 2 217.5 GEL. According to the economic activity the highest monthly earnings were observed in the following fields: ⦁ Information and communication – 4 […]
Read moreGeorgia reduced visa-free travel for Ukrainians: new rules
Georgia has changed the rules of visa-free stay for Ukrainian citizens, reducing the period from three years to one. Find out who is affected by these changes, how they will affect Ukrainians in the country, and what to do for those planning a long-term stay or legalization. On April 3, 2025, the Prime Minister of […]
Read moreWhat employment tax incentives are valid until the end of 2025?
For several years now, Serbia has provided various tax and social relief measures for employers hiring specific categories of workers. These incentives aim to encourage employment and innovation in the economy while reducing unemployment. All current measures were introduced at the end of 2021 and came into effect at the beginning of 2022. So far […]
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