Author: Tatyana Gracheva
Taxes for high earners will increase in Kazakhstan
A second package of amendments to the tax legislation was proposed by the Kazakh Ministry of National Economy on April 25, including a proposition to increase the individual income tax rate for high earners.
The Ministry of National Economy stated that citizens with lower incomes will pay personal income tax at a lower rate than high-paid workers, without specifying the exact income levels that will be subject to the higher rate. However, Minister Serik Zhumangarin proposed to introduce an increased rate of 15% for employees with annual income exceeding 8,500 monthly calculation indices (MCI).
Currently, they value one MCI in Kazakhstan at 3,932 KZT ($7.64), but there are plans to rise it to 4,129 KZT ($8) by 2026, due to coming into force of the new Tax Code. These figures let calculate the threshold for the increased personal income tax rate starting at 35 million KZT per year (approximately $68,000) or 2.9 million KZT per month ($5,600) in 2026.
Nevertheless, they will tax at the increased 15% rate only the portion exceeding the 2.9 million KZT threshold. The tax rate for the income up to that threshold will remain standard (10%).
With the introduction of a progressive scale, the Ministry of National Economy hopes to increase tax revenues by 70 billion KZT per year (approximately $13.5 million).
Additionally, optimizing deductions for medical, education, and social contributions were also proposed by the ministry. They will introduce a single basic deduction of 30 MCI per month instead of the current deduction of 14 MCI and eliminate all additional deductions in order to simplify accounting procedures and reduce the administrative burden for individuals and employers.
Currently, a portion of employees’ salary equivalent to 14 MCI, or about 55,000 KZT ($106), can be exempted from taxation, upon request. The proposed changes, starting in 2026, will change this amount to 123,800 KZT ($239) per month.
There was also a proposition to strengthen liability for violations related to compulsory social and health insurance and the use of special tax regimes. Totally, 71 amendments to the draft new Tax Code and related legislation have been proposed by the government, along with 67 amendments to the current Tax Code.
According to the previous report of the Times of Central Asia, the Mazhilis (the lower house of the Kazakh parliament) approved the draft of the new Tax Code in its first reading in early April. However, debates about the proposed reforms continue, as well as criticism from deputies, experts, and entrepreneurs.
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Read moreNew amendments to migration law are submitted to parliament by Georgia’s Interior Ministry
A package of legislative amendments related to migration has been submitted to parliament for consideration by Georgia’s Interior Ministry. Foreigners who commit crimes or overstay, as well as the procedure to receive asylum, are the main target of the amendments.
To overview the amendments, the Interior Ministry published a brief statement on Thursday that is going to appear on the parliamentary website. The ministry says that they prepared the amendments to ‘improve the fight against illegal migration and refine regulations related to the granting of asylum’ and to met the directives of the European Parliament and Council.
The introduction of a new type of punishment to the Georgian Criminal Code is the first change listed in Thursday’s official statement. According to it, a foreigner must be expulsed from Georgia without the right of entry into Georgia for a specific period of time. They will also add a new administrative penalty to the Code of Administrative Offences, featuring the same punishment.
Nevertheless, there were no details the kind of crimes these penalties would apply to, nor about the period of the ban of entry duration.
Additionally, the fines for foreigners who violated the rules of staying on Georgian territory would increase, but it will become significantly easier to expel foreigners illegally staying in the country.
Also, the legislative package will include an accelerated system in regards to the asylum procedure, while the time limits for review and appeal will be ‘significantly reduced’. The procedure for submitting decisions will also become easier.
Furthermore, an amendment that would introduce a new mechanism according to which asylum could be considered at the state border, without allowing the asylum seeker to enter Georgian territory if their entry ‘poses a threat to state security’, was also listed by the ministry. There were no details about the basis of decision making, nor about decision makers.
The last amendment that the ministry listed would restrict the issuance of a residence permit to any foreigner who has been investigated with the intention of expulsion, or who already has received an expulsion order.
At present, they allow a visa-free entry to Georgia for a period of one year, which resets every time one leaves the country and reenters, to citizens from over 90 countries. As for activities one can do in Georgia within the one-year period, whether that be traveling, working, or studying, there are also few ostensible restrictions.
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Read moreGeorgia’s Economic Vision presentation during 17th Silk Road Tax Forum
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He also stressed the need of institutional reforms for development of a dynamic economy and improved investor relations for stricter fiscal discipline. According to Khutsishvili, the same Georgian tax system with its low taxes, provides modern methods of taxation along with customs administration.
They also discussed investments in strategic infrastructure projects such as roads, ports, energy transmission lines, digital connectivity and the importance of increasing the efficiency of tax administration and sharing international experience in this regard.
As Minister Lasha Khutsishvili stated, the Ministry of Finance approved the country’s first medium-term revenue strategy (2025–2030) at the end of last year, and the Georgian Revenue Service has updated and published a strategy for 2025-2030. Notably, Georgia is a candidate for EU membership and a full member of the European Union tax program (FISCALIS) program. It was one of the first nations to adopt base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).
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Read moreThere are more unemployed in Kazakhstan than in Russia
According to data from the Eurasian Economic Commission, there are more than 330,000 unemployed people in Kazakhstan (3.5% of the total workforce), the only country in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) where the number of unemployed people has increased over the year. The increase over the year was 3.2% (27,000 people).
Meanwhile, the number of unemployed people has been decreasing in other EEU countries. Only 0.4% of the total workforce are officially unemployed in Russia (283,000 people), and their number decreased by 0.1% over a year.
The number of unemployed in Kyrgyzstan decreased from 65,100 to 48,400 people over the year (2.4% versus 1.7%) and by 8,600 people in Armenia (from 45,700 to 37,100, or 3.4% versus 2.8%).
The smallest number of unemployed people is in Belarus— 3,300 or 0.1% of the total labor force. 1,000 people found a job in the country over the year.
Totally, 704,900 or 0.8% of people were unemployed in the EEU member states at the end of February (a 14.8% downfall compared to the same date in 2024).
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