Another story on the business formula, where they discussed various topics, including the status of Georgia as a technological and digital Hub.
According to the government, Georgia has an ambition to become the digital hub of the region, which will help attract large companies to the country. The government’s strategic plan for 2020-2025 includes tackling digital inequality, building high-speed Internet networks, and attracting investment. Due to the geographical location of Georgia, the transit corridor should be used and we should become a hub between Europe and Asia in the digital direction. However, the question is, how genuine is the opportunity, and what are we doing to achieve it?
All this requires technical readiness, infrastructure, and relations with the private sector. The main direction for attracting investments is the IT sector. There is a shortage of staff in the market in this regard. IT companies have been having problems over the last year.
For example, sudden changes in the tax direction of the Revenue Service have allowed investors to leave the country. The Revenue Service, on the other hand, is requesting Virtual Zone Persons to pay property taxes and pay amounts accumulated in previous years that were not originally required by law, which investors do not like and they leave the country.
The chairman of the association, Shorena Kopaleishvili emphasized the significance of communication between the state and business. Business needs to feel that it is vital to the state. The State and Revenue Service must create the environment for businesses to operate and develop. But that does not mean that businesses should not pay taxes, but only what belongs to them, she noted.
Finally, if the government’s real goal is to be established as a hub, it must take real steps, rather than just theoretically talk about it.
