Digital nomads will be granted tax incentives, APA reports.
This is reflected in the proposed amendments to the Law on Currency Regulation and the Tax Code discussed today at a meeting of the Milli Majlis Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship.
A digital nomad is defined as a foreign citizen or stateless person who works remotely in the fields of digital technologies, artificial intelligence technologies, cybersecurity and innovation through information and communication technologies and earns income from foreign sources.
According to the proposed amendment to the Law on Currency Regulation, no amount restrictions will apply for currency regulation purposes to foreign currency funds earned by digital nomads from foreign sources when such funds are deposited into or transferred from their accounts at authorized banks in Azerbaijan, provided tax obligations are fulfilled.
Under the proposed amendment to the Law on Banks, accounts for digital nomads at authorized banks will be opened solely on the basis of an identity document and a signature specimen card.
According to the proposed amendments to the Tax Code, activities carried out in the territory of Azerbaijan by a digital nomad under employment or civil-law contracts concluded with a foreign non-resident enterprise (or entrepreneur) will not be considered a permanent establishment of that non-resident in Azerbaijan.
Income earned by a digital nomad under employment or civil-law contracts concluded with non-resident persons located or registered outside Azerbaijan, as well as income not sourced from Azerbaijan (provided that the non-resident paying the income is not a related party to that person, residents of Azerbaijan do not predominate among the beneficial owners of the non-resident paying the income, and the payer is not registered in low-tax jurisdictions), will be exempt from income tax for a period of 20 years from the date the digital nomad status becomes effective.
According to the proposed amendments to the Migration Code, applicants must submit copies of apostilled or legalized documents confirming that they engage in the activities specified by the Code and have received an average stable monthly income from foreign sources over the past six months amounting to no less than 13 times the minimum monthly wage.
With regard to digital nomads, the circumstances specified in the Code will constitute grounds for granting temporary or permanent residence permits in Azerbaijan provided that the digital nomad is registered with the tax authorities and will carry out the activities specified in the Code as a resident of an industrial or technology park.