Uzbekistan Collects $5 Million From Foreign Digital Companies in First Quarter

Foreign technology and digital service companies paid 65.7 billion Uzbek som ($5.1 million) in taxes in Uzbekistan during the first quarter of 2026, according to the country’s State Tax Committee. The figure represents an 81% increase compared to the same period in 2025, when foreign digital firms paid 36.2 billion som ($2.98 million) in taxes. The total value of electronic services provided by foreign companies in Uzbekistan also rose sharply, from 306.6 billion som ($25.2 million) in the first three months of 2025 to 552 billion som ($45.4 million) this year. The State Tax Committee said 89 foreign companies providing electronic services are currently registered as taxpayers in Uzbekistan. Among the largest taxpayers in the first quarter were Apple, which paid 16.1 billion som ($1.32 million) in taxes, followed by Google at 14.9 billion som ($1.23 million) and Meta at 13.9 billion som ($1.14 million). Other major contributors included Valve Corporation, which paid 8 billion som ($658,000), OpenAI with 2.5 billion som ($206,000), and Anthropic with 1.5 billion som ($123,000). Gaming and entertainment platforms also appeared among the top taxpayers. Midasbuy paid 1.3 billion som ($107,000), while TikTok, Booking.com, and Netflix collectively contributed more than 2 billion som ($165,000). Under Uzbek law, foreign legal entities providing electronic services must submit tax reports and pay taxes no later than the 20th day of the month following each reporting quarter. Previously, Kazakhstan reported that foreign digital platforms transferred nearly $18 million to the state budget in January 2026 alone through its digital services tax, commonly referred to as the “Google tax.” According to Kazakhstan’s State Revenue Committee, 120 foreign companies have registered as taxpayers there since the tax was introduced in 2022, generating a total of about $277.5 million in revenue.