Baku: The legalization and transparency of labor relations have led to a significant surge in the revenues of the State Social Protection Fund, with its income more than doubling. As a result, the portion of state budget transfers allocated to the fund has decreased, as stated by Orkhan Nazarli, the Head of the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, during an interview with AZERTAC and REAL Television.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, Nazarli highlighted that the main goal of the labor income benefits introduced in the non-oil private sector was to formalize labor relations. Since 2019, labor contracts in this sector have increased by 91 percent, exceeding 1 million. During the same period, labor income has risen 2.5 times, which amounts to an estimated increase of 6.5 billion manats.

Nazarli further mentioned that current observations show no signs of a return to the shadow economy, indicating the possibility of sustaining these positive outcomes.