The statement of the newly appointed head of the State Tax Service Almambet Shykmamatov about the cancellation of the ETTN and in general about the need to reduce the fiscal burden on entrepreneurs, made the previous day, at a meeting of the committee in the JK, is a clear signal of the authorities to restart relations with business.

Shykmamatov's words at the Jogorku Kenesh meeting were in stark contrast to previous rhetoric, when the emphasis was on tightening fiscal control. In his speech, he emphasized that growth in tax revenues does not always indicate growth in the economy. According to him, a real economy is when both the budget and the population are prospering at the same time. If the budget is growing, but the people are suffering, this cannot be called economic growth. Such a statement actually means a departure from the course of the former head of the Cabinet of Ministers Akylbek Japarov - the course of strict fiscalisation.

The statement of the head of the State Tax Service indicates the intention of the Kyrgyz authorities to revise and update the format of interaction with the business community.

The President's team, apparently, has picked up increasingly clear signals of business concern, when major players in almost all spheres ‘froze’ until the situation is clarified.  

Additional confirmation of this approach was the reaction of Sadyr Japarov's spokesperson. Just a few hours after a tense discussion in the JK between Almambet Shykmamatov and his direct supervisor, recently appointed First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Daniyar Amangeldiev.

Sadyr Japarov conveyed to the Cabinet through his spokesperson: "Taxes should not turn into an excessive burden on the people!"

In other words, President Sadyr Japarov's team realizes the accumulated dissatisfaction of business and intends to restart these relations. And here Almambet Shykmamatov acts as a "dove of peace" between the government and business.

Known for his liberal views and long career in the opposition, he represents a part of the presidential team that seeks to sense the mood of the masses, including entrepreneurs. His statement indicates that the authorities intend to revise the approach of government agencies to working with business. In particular, the punitive nature of interaction is being changed to a partnership one.

"Akchabar" sources have learnt that the new head of the State Tax Service has a clear position that "courts should not default to the side of the state in disputes with business" concerning economic issues. He is sure that consideration of such cases should be conducted exclusively on the merits.

This is another signal to business - about a fairer approach.

Judging by the quotability of Shykmamatov's speech in the press and on social networks, the public has taken the authorities' signal positively. Numerous influencers and representatives of the business environment noted that such changes are long overdue.

However, the changes are accompanied by confrontation within the government office. The head of the Cabinet and his deputy, Adylbek Kasymaliyev and Daniyar Amangeldiev, opposed Shykmamatov's initiatives. They tried to bureaucratize the issue by moving it to a specially created commission to study the matter in detail. Nevertheless, the president's support allowed the new head of the State Tax Service to turn the situation around and push forward the agenda to soften approaches to business.

What is happening can be regarded as a correction of the excesses of the previous policy, which caused serious concerns among businesses. The resignation of the former head of the Cabinet of Ministers, Akylbek Japarov, as well as the emergence of new faces in the government, suggests that the presidential administration is distancing itself from the previous hard line.

Entrepreneurs have long expressed dissatisfaction with excessive fiscal pressure, and the new strategy of the authorities may become a kind of ‘valve’ to release the accumulated tension. At the same time, representatives of Akylbek Japarov's previous team, including Kasymaliyev and Amangeldiev, continue to openly defend the previous course, arguing the necessity of their actions within the framework of the previously chosen policy.

Meanwhile, the autonomous behaviour of the head of the State Tax Service and his public disagreement with his immediate superior, Daniyar Amangeldiev, became a demonstration of the accumulated negativity of the business community. This negativity, apparently, is now directed at specific individuals who previously initiated and implemented the policy associated with excessive ‘fiscalization’. This was the reason for the excesses, the consequences of which the current administration is trying to correct. And today we observe a kind of ‘sewerage’ of dissatisfaction of entrepreneurs, caused by the previous management approaches.

And it seems that not only business is dissatisfied with this. At least this can be seen in Shykmamatov's statement that he intends to raise the issue of bringing to justice the people behind the introduction of ETTN.