Kazakh parliament approves new tax code with VAT increase to 16%The lower house of the Kazakh parliament approved amendments to the Tax Code at their second and final reading during a plenary session on Wednesday."The initially proposed VAT rate of 20% has been reduced to 16% [it is currently 12%]. The mandatory VAT registration threshold has been raised from 15 million to 40 million tenge," MP Berik Beisengaliyev said while presenting the bill.Reduced VAT rates will be introduced for medicines and medical services, at 5% starting 2026 and 10% from 2027. VAT exemptions will apply to goods and services under guaranteed free medical care, mandatory health insurance, treatment of orphan and certain other diseases, and socially significant food products.The bill includes measures to reduce the burden on agricultural producers, replaces permissive lists of activities with prohibitive ones, and expands special tax regimes for business-to-business transactions. Reduced corporate income tax (CIT) rates are set for social sector organizations - 5% from 2026 and 10% from 2027.Meanwhile, CIT rates for gambling businesses and banks will increase to 25%, though banks will retain a 20% rate for income from business lending.The new Tax Code also introduces a progressive scale for individual income tax. "This structure avoids increasing the tax burden on low- and middle-income citizens while maintaining fairness and proportionality in taxation," Beisengaliyev said.The legislation implements phased excise tax increases on alcohol, tobacco, heated tobacco products, and introduces excise taxes on energy drinks.Inefficient use of agricultural land will face rates up to 100 times higher. Subsoil use fees will also be revised based on license duration and number of plots.The lower house approved a related draft law on amendments to certain legislative acts of Kazakhstan on taxation at its first reading. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX