He noted that after criticism of the initiative, the number of bloggers earning from advertising was calculated.

«We sat down and did the math. Do you know how many bloggers earn from advertising? Only 40 people. And all of them paid 1.2 million soms in taxes,» the head of the State Tax Service said.

He stated that this million soms does not play a significant role in the country’s economy.

Daniyar Amanaliev, co-founder of the Ololo Group of companies and a member of the Supervisory Board of the Creative Industries Park, explained that not all taxes will be abolished, only the single tax, while income tax and social contributions will remain.

Using the Creative Industries Park as an example, he explained that after registering and reducing the single tax to 1 percent, the Park residents only paid less in the first quarter, but in subsequent periods, the tax amount increased because the companies’ income also grew.

Daniyar Amanaliev added that the presidential decree on tax exemption applies not only to bloggers.

«Bloggers make up less than 1 percent of the creative industry. The Creative Industries Park has many other professions—representatives of architecture, film production, design, creative education, and so on,» Amanaliev said.

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov signed a decree exempting creative and artistic activities from taxes for five years.