A meeting was held in Semey with Deputy Minister of Finance Yerzhan Birzhanov, Director of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Abai region Maksat Suichinov, Deputy Akim of the region Kanat Adilbay, as well as representatives of the business community of the region, Maslikhats and members of regional and sectoral councils of entrepreneurs under the Regpalat, primeminister.kz reports.
In the format of an open dialogue a productive conversation was held and all the nuances of the tax reform were explained, the position of business on changing the rate of value added tax was heard.
We would like to remind you that today the government proposes a basic all-conditional VAT rate of 16%, an intermediate rate of 10% for priority activities and 0% for agricultural producers.
The issue of increasing tax revenues is one of the key topics of discussion within the framework of the upcoming reform. The state seeks to ensure stable budget revenues, reduce dependence on transfers from the National Fund and, at the same time, create favourable conditions for business. However, in order to achieve these goals, several factors need to be taken into account, including the impact of tax policy on the investment climate, the competitiveness of companies and economic growth.
In order to ensure that the tax reform does not create an excessive burden on entrepreneurs, the state authorities are introducing a service approach in tax administration. The main objective is to simplify the tax payment process and minimise the bureaucratic burden on business.
Among the key initiatives are the pre-filling of VAT returns, the launch of the e-Tamga project, which will allow online tracking of the status of tax transactions, and the automated maintenance of electronic invoices. Already today, more than 1.3 million taxpayers are registered in the system, and the annual number of e-invoices issued reaches 260 million.
As the director of Regpalata, a person who is engaged in the development of entrepreneurship and defence of business interests, I believe that the increase in the VAT rate will not have the best impact on both business and the end consumer. VAT is a tax on consumption and its change will affect prices in any case. It is important to set up a balanced system that takes into account the needs of small businesses and reduces administrative barriers. Simply lowering the VAT threshold without simplifying administration will create an additional burden. It is necessary to automate reporting, introduce cash-based accounting, pre-filled declarations and other tools that will allow entrepreneurs to work more efficiently. In addition, tax reform should take into account the impact on the investment climate. The high burden on the labour payment fund is already forcing businesses to go into the shadows. Revising social tax and mandatory employer pension contributions will help reduce indirect costs, move companies out of the informal sector and create new jobs. We continue our dialogue with government authorities to ensure that final decisions take into account the balance between fiscal objectives and entrepreneurship development. The reform should not only replenish the budget, but also create conditions for long-term economic growth, business development and increased transparency of the tax system," Director of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Abai region Maksat Suichinov said.
It should be noted that about 60 thousand business entities operate in Abai region, of which about 70% are individual entrepreneurs.
The total number of taxpayers in Kazakhstan is more than 2 million. Only 80 thousand of them pay value added tax. The threshold today is about 80 million tenge and it is proposed to reduce it to 15 million tenge. This issue is subject to discussion, because this circle may include a significant number of taxpayers and we estimate that 200-300 thousand entrepreneurs will be added. I would like to tell you at once that those taxpayers who work directly with the population, we will refer to a special tax regime. That is, convenience stores, hairdressing salons, small clothing boutiques, which today worked in a simplified regime or retail tax, will be exempt from VAT," Deputy Minister of Finance Yerzhan Birzhanov stressed.
Deputy Minister explained how the special tax regime and retail tax will be transformed.
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