Ukraine launches bold labor overhaul to jumpstart economy
Kyiv is developing an employment strategy to boost Ukraine’s economic growth by reducing unemployment, ensuring job equality, and enhancing market flexibility, the Economy Ministry announced on May 5. Key focuses of the strategy include creating new jobs through small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and social entrepreneurship, providing professional training according to market demands, offering flexible […]
Read moreKazakh VAT rise to 16% Jan 2026 update
4% VAT increase to 16% 2026 proposal; new 10% reduced rate; and lower registration threshold Kazakhstan’s Parliament lower house approved amendments to the Tax Code in a final reading on 30 April 2025. The Senate will now review the tax changes. The amendments to the VAT regime in the Tax Code would apply from 1 […]
Read moreGeorgians May Lose Visa-Free Travel to the European Union
Georgia may soon lose its visa-free travel to the European Union due to the country’s democratic backsliding, triggering widespread domestic and diplomatic reactions. Georgian opposition leaders support maintaining visa-free travel for citizens while urging the European Union to impose direct sanctions on the ruling Georgian Dream leadership, whom they blame for authoritarian reforms and damaging […]
Read moreThe amended law comes into effect on Wednesday: Employers face five new obligations towards employees
Employers in Serbia are required to fully align their operations with the new provisions of the Law on Occupational Health and Safety by Wednesday, 7 May. These changes focus on enhanced employee protection, the introduction of preventive measures, and more effective control of working conditions. Notably, the law now clearly regulates remote and home-based work, […]
Read moreUkraine has a severe labor force shortage, prompting employers to seek help from pensioners.
The personnel shortage is particularly acute in the capital, where there are 75,000 open vacancies, yet only 3,000 registered unemployed individuals, as stated by Yulia Zhovtyak, Director of the State Employment Service. She noted that the situation is similar in other regions; in the Lviv region, there are 5,000 available candidates for 24,000 vacancies. The […]
Read moreKazakhstan to Increase Taxes for High Earners
The Kazakh Ministry of National Economy has submitted a second package of amendments to the tax legislation to parliament, proposing an increase in the individual income tax rate for high earners. The second package was submitted to the Mazhilis (the lower house of the Kazakh parliament) on April 25. One of the key provisions is […]
Read moreAverage net salary for February 103,519 dinars, median 80,732 dinars
The average gross salary in Serbia calculated for February this year amounted to 142,908 dinars, while the average salary without taxes and contributions (net) was 103,519 dinars, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia announced today. The median net salary amounted to 80,732 dinars, meaning that 50 percent of employees earned up to that […]
Read moreAI Took My Job—Or Did It? Rethinking Work, Skill, and Value in the Age of Generative Intelligence
Once upon a time, machines displaced factory workers. Then algorithms came for office clerks. Today, generative AI is reshaping the very core of white-collar professions, from marketing and law to education and design. Is this the long-foretold end of human work—or the beginning of a different kind of labor? As large language models and synthetic […]
Read moreTaxes 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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