Successful employment policy

During 2006-2008 27,500 new institutions were established and over 766,000 new workplaces created all over the regions of Azerbaijan. 40 per cent of the institutions and 80 per cent of vacancies fall on the regions and over 88 per cent of newly established institutions are institutions of private ownership. 547,500 new workplaces out of 766,000 turned to be steady jobs.

To develop entrepreneurship and speed up the opening of workplaces the maximum rate of the natural persons’ income tax was decreased to 35 %, profit tax rate and deductions for social insurance to 22 per cent. 

The number of taxes decreased to 9 and the producers of agricultural products were exempted from all the taxes except land tax. The licensing system in Azerbaijan underwent drastic changes, the number of kinds of activities to be licenced was considerably decreased and the licences prolonged. The application of a new licensing system gave an incentive to the development of free competition, the increase in quality of the products produced and services rendered. The export duties in the country were annulled and the maximum rate for import duties fixed to be 15%. 

One of the important trends of the state support for entrepreneurship during the implementation of the programme was the mechanism for providing businessmen with preferential credits. During 2004-2008 a credit to the amount of 323,400,000 manats was granted to 6991 entrepreneurial subjects all over the country at the cost of National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support operating by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Azerbaijan Republic for the purpose to provide support and enhance the state concern for entrepreneurial activity.