On the instructions of the Prime Minister to develop new approaches to the reform of fiscal policy, Deputy Minister - Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin held the first meeting of the Expert Council under the Ministry of National Economy, primeminister.kz reports.
The Council meeting was attended by Finance Minister Madi Takiyev, Deputy Chairman of the National Bank Akylzhan Baimagambetov, Deputy Minister of National Economy Azamat Amrin and more than 20 experts, including heads of major financial, investment, analytical and consulting organisations, the Council of the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan, NPP ‘Atameken’.
The participants discussed measures to increase the profitability of the budget. In particular, a set of new and already proposed measures within the development of the new tax code. Most participants agreed with the proposed changes in the new version of the code to eliminate a number of existing tax exemptions, increase the rate of corporate income tax (CIT) for banks and financial institutions, postponement of the introduction of taxation of remuneration on government securities from 2030 to 2026, revision of taxation of gambling business. These measures are designed to increase the profitability of budget revenues by more than 1 trillion tenge.
However, these changes are not enough to cover the existing gap between budget expenditures and revenues. As it was noted at the meeting, the annual burden on the budget is increasing, social expenditures are growing, while the development of the real sector of the economy accounts for less than 10 per cent of budget expenditures. And without reforms in the fiscal sphere it is practically impossible to correct the situation.
The participants of the meeting expressed their opinion and proposals to equalise the imbalance between monetary and fiscal policies and improve the efficiency of the taxation system.
The year 2025 will not be easy for Kazakhstan. We will have to adopt long overdue reforms that were postponed in previous years. These include bringing prices to a market state so that the state can continue to fulfil its social obligations. Unfortunately, we need to adopt a number of unpopular reforms to improve the situation with taxes, improve their administration, and perhaps even revise rates. Most importantly, we need to do this not even to save the National Fund, but to ensure that the economy continues to be a market economy. The new tax code, some of the proposals to which we have discussed today, will soon be available to the public. I urge everyone to express their opinion," Rassul Rysmambetov, Chairman of the Board of the NAC Analytica CF (NU), said.
Today we talked about the new Tax Code, which is being prepared by the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The discussion focused on the many proposed changes. The Tax Code under consideration now, first of all, is very important for the future of our country. Of course, there are many proposals, for example, to improve tax administration, increase or decrease tax rates, etc. In this regard, we need solutions that will improve the future of our nation. This is the importance of such meetings as today," economist Galymzhan Aitkazin emphasised.
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