Foreign IT giants paid 124.8 billion soums in taxes to Uzbekistan

Why is this important

The 44% increase in tax revenues from IT giants indicates the expansion of the digital economy and the effectiveness of tax administration. Uzbekistan was among the first in the CIS to introduce an electronic service tax (VAT 12%), which ensures fair competition with local companies. The dominance of Meta, Apple, and Google (81% of fees) reflects their popularity among Uzbek users.

What happened

• 73 foreign companies paid 124.8 billion soums ($10.4 million) in taxes for 9 months of 2025.
• Growth of 44% year by year;
• 93% of taxes fell on the top 10 companies;
• Leaders: Meta (35.2 billion), Apple (35.1 billion), Google (31.2 billion).

Top 10 companies in taxes

1. Meta — 35.2 billion soums (28.2% of the total);
2. Apple — 35,1 billion (28,1%);
3. Google — 31,2 billion (25%);
4. OpenAI — 4,7 billion (3,8%);
5. Booking.com — 2,9 billion (2,3%);
6. TikTok — 2,6 billion (2,1%);
7. Netflix — 1,3 billion (1%);
8. Acca — 1,1 billion (0,9%);
9. Zoom — 1,1 billion (0,9%);
10. Amazon — 1,1 billion (0,9%).

The top 3 (Meta, Apple, Google) accounted for 81% of all tax revenues — 101.5 billion soums out of 124.8 billion soums.

Context

Uzbekistan introduced 12% VAT on electronic services of foreign companies in 2019. This includes: digital content (music, video, books, games), subscriptions (Netflix, Spotify, YouTube Premium), cloud services (Google Drive, iCloud), online advertising (Facebook Ads, Google Ads), mobile apps (App Store, Google Play).

The 44% increase is due to several factors:

• Expansion of the digital economy: more Uzbeks are buying subscriptions, applications, and digital content;
• Soum strengthening: users spend more in dollar equivalent;
• Improvement of tax administration: more companies started paying taxes;
• Popularity of new services: OpenAI (ChatGPT Plus) collected 4.7 billion soums in 9 months.

Meta (35.2 billion) is the leader in revenue from advertising on Facebook and Instagram. Uzbek businesses actively use these platforms to promote goods and services.

Apple (35.1 billion) — revenues from App Store (app purchases, subscriptions, in-game purchases) and services (iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+). The popularity of the iPhone in Uzbekistan is growing, which is increasing the user base.

Google (31.2 billion) — revenue from Google Ads (advertising), Google Play (app, games), YouTube Premium, and cloud services.

OpenAI (4.7 billion) is an unexpectedly high amount for a relatively new service. This indicates the popularity of ChatGPT Plus among Uzbek users (businesses, students, specialists).

Booking.com (2.9 billion) — income from booking hotels and air tickets. Uzbekistanis are actively traveling, especially to CIS countries, Turkey, and the UAE.

TikTok (2.6 billion) — revenue from advertising and in-platform purchases. TikTok is popular among Uzbekistan’s youth.

The remaining 63 companies (except for the top-10) paid only 7% of taxes — 8.7 billion soums. This indicates a high concentration of the digital services market.

Fair competition: e-services tax equalizes conditions for foreign and local companies. Without it, foreigners would have a competitive advantage, as they did not pay VAT.