Kazakhstan has one of the most competitive tax regimes in the region.
Comparison of basic tax rates in Kazakhstan, Russia and China
Taxes |
Kazakhstan |
Russia |
China |
KPN |
20% |
20% |
25% |
VAT |
12% |
20% |
13% |
Land tax |
$0,03-$0,16/1 м2 |
0,3%, 1,5% |
– |
Property tax |
1,5% |
2,2% |
1,2%*, 12%** |
*assessed value,** rental property
Source: Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Federal Tax Service of Russia, State Administration of Taxation of the People's Republic of China
Currently, there are 55 conventions in force in the Republic of Kazakhstan for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion on income and capital, concluded with foreign states. The elimination of double taxation is a procedure when each of the contracting states provides the taxpayer with the opportunity to pay tax only once - in one of the contracting states. The full list of Conventions is available on the official website of the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
More: kgd.gov.kz/ru/content/konvencii-ob-izbezhanii-dvoynogo
National legislation
The tax legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan is based on Constitution Republic of Kazakhstan, consists of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget" (Tax Code), as well as regulatory legal acts, the adoption of which is provided for by the Tax Code.
On December 25, 2017, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan signed and put into effect the New Tax Code, which was developed as part of the Address of the Head of State “Kazakhstan in a new global reality: growth, reforms, development” and the Nation’s Plan “100 Concrete Steps” for the implementation of five institutional reforms. The most significant change states that the interpretation of all uncertainties and outstanding issues of tax legislation will be in favor of taxpayers. Also, the New Tax Code provides for the stimulation of the taxation regime for subsoil users and other sectors, an increase in the time for taxpayers to study changes made to the legislation during the year, and simplified tax administration.
More: http://kgd.gov.kz/ru/content/nalogovyy-kodeks-rk
In the Republic of Kazakhstan there are:
Taxes |
Payments |
1. corporate income tax; 2. individual income tax; 3. value added tax; 4. excises; 5. rent tax on export; 6. special payments and taxes of subsoil users; 7. social tax; 8. vehicle tax; 9. land tax; 10. property tax; 11. gambling business tax; 12. unified land tax; |
1. state duty; 2. fees; 3. fee for:
|
For the purposes of applying international treaties, value added tax and excises are recognized as indirect taxes.
Taxation of income of residents and non-residents
For tax purposes, a resident of the Republic of Kazakhstan is recognized:
1) natural person:
2) legal entity:
An individual is recognized as permanently residing in the Republic of Kazakhstan for the current tax period if he is in the Republic of Kazakhstan for at least one hundred and eighty-three calendar days (including the days of arrival and departure) in any consecutive twelve-month period ending in the current tax period. The center of vital interests of an individual is recognized as being in the Republic of Kazakhstan, provided that the following conditions are met simultaneously:
1) an individual has citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan or a residence permit in the Republic of Kazakhstan (residence permit);
2) spouse (s) and (or) close relatives individuals reside in the Republic of Kazakhstan;
3) the presence in the Republic of Kazakhstan of immovable property owned by the right of ownership or on other grounds to an individual and (or) spouse (e) and (or) his close relatives, available at any time for his residence and (or) for the residence of his spouse (and) and (or) his close relatives.
Residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan pay taxes in the Republic of Kazakhstan in accordance with the provisions of the Tax Code on income from sources in the Republic of Kazakhstan and abroad. Non-residents pay taxes in the Republic of Kazakhstan on income from sources in the Republic of Kazakhstan in accordance with tax legislation. Non-residents carrying out entrepreneurial activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan through a permanent establishment shall also pay taxes in the Republic of Kazakhstan in accordance with the tax legislation on income from sources outside the Republic of Kazakhstan related to the activities of such a permanent establishment.
Permanent establishment of a non-resident
In accordance with the Tax Code, unless otherwise provided by an international treaty, a permanent establishment of a non-resident in the Republic of Kazakhstan is one of the following places of activity through which a non-resident carries out business activities in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, regardless of the timing of such activities :
I. PLACE :
1) any place of production, processing, assembly, packaging, packaging and (or) delivery of goods;
2) any place of management;
3) any place of geological study of subsoil, exploration, preparatory work for the extraction of minerals and (or) extraction of minerals and (or) performance of work, provision of services for the control and (or) supervision of exploration and (or) extraction of minerals;
4) any place of carrying out activities (including control or observation) related to the pipeline;
5) any place of carrying out activities related to the installation, adjustment and operation of gaming machines (including set-top boxes), computer networks and communication channels, attractions, as well as related to transport or other infrastructure;
6) the place of sale of goods on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, except for cases of sale of goods at exhibitions and fairs, unless otherwise provided by paragraph 5 of Article 220 of the Tax Code ;
7) any place of construction activities and (or) construction and installation works, as well as the provision of services for monitoring the performance of these works;
8) the location of the structural subdivision of a non-resident legal entity, with the exception of a representative office carrying out activities specified in paragraph 6 of Article 220 of the Tax Code ;
9) the location of a person carrying out intermediary activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan on behalf of a non-resident in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Insurance Activities";
10) the location of a resident party to an agreement on joint activities concluded with a non-resident in accordance with the legislation of a foreign state or the Republic of Kazakhstan, if such joint activities are carried out on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
If the place of provision of services or works is not specified in one of the above paragraphs, then the permanent establishment of a non-resident is the place of provision of services, performance of work in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, through employees or other personnel hired by a non-resident for such purposes, if activities of this nature continue in the territory Republic of Kazakhstan for more than one hundred and eighty-three calendar days within any consecutive twelve-month period from the date of commencement of business activities within the framework of one project or related projects.
If a non-resident operates through a structural unit that does not lead to the formation of a permanent establishment in accordance with an international treaty governing the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion, then the provisions of the Tax Code provided for a permanent establishment will apply to such a structural unit of a non-resident. institutions of a non-resident. At the same time, such a structural unit has the right to apply the provisions of an international treaty governing the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion.
Dependent agent
If a non-resident carries out business activities in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan through a dependent agent, then such non-resident will be considered as having a permanent establishment in connection with any activity that the dependent agent carries out for this non-resident, regardless of the timing of such activities.
A dependent agent is an individual or legal entity that is authorized on the basis of contractual relations to represent the interests of a non-resident in the Republic of Kazakhstan, act and (or) perform certain legal actions on behalf and at the expense of a non-resident, including entering into an agreement for the provision of services for a fee or playing the main role in concluding such an agreement or transferring the right of ownership (right of use) of property owned by a non-resident on the basis of the right of ownership (right of use), except when such activity is carried out by him within the framework of the customs representative, professional participant in the securities market and other brokerage activities, except for the activities of an insurance broker and cases when such an agent acts exclusively or primarily on behalf of a non-resident.
II. The activity of a non-resident, carried out in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan through a subsidiary established in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, leads to the formation of a permanent establishment of a non-resident, if the subsidiary is recognized as a dependent agent in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 220 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
III. A non-resident forms a permanent establishment in the Republic of Kazakhstan when selling goods at exhibitions and fairs held on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, if such sale lasts more than ten calendar days.
IV. The following types of activities of a non-resident that are exclusively preparatory or auxiliary in nature, are not part of the main types of business activities of a non-resident and last no more than three years do not lead to the formation of a permanent establishment of a non-resident in the Republic of Kazakhstan :
1) the use of any place solely for the purposes of storage and (or) demonstration of goods belonging to a non-resident, without its sale;
2) maintenance of a permanent place of business solely for the purpose of purchasing goods for a non-resident without selling them;
maintenance of a permanent place of business solely for the collection, processing and (or) dissemination of information, advertising or market research of goods, works, services sold by a non-resident.
1. Corporate income tax (CIT)
The general CIT rate is 20% of taxable income. Payers of corporate income tax are resident legal entities of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with the exception of state institutions and state educational institutions of secondary education, as well as non-resident legal entities operating in the Republic of Kazakhstan through a permanent establishment or receiving income from sources in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The objects of corporate income tax are:
In accordance with the current Tax Code, the list of taxable income has been supplemented, which also includes the total profit of controlled foreign companies and permanent establishments of controlled foreign companies, determined in accordance with the Tax Law.
Controlled foreign companies (CFCs)
Currently, more and more countries are adopting in their tax legislation rules on controlled foreign companies aimed at countering tax avoidance. Kazakhstan is also no exception.
From January 1, 2018, the income of a legal or natural person of a resident includes the profit of his controlled foreign company (CFC).
A controlled foreign company is a person that simultaneously meets the following conditions:
1) such person is one of the following persons:
2) as of December 31 of the reporting period, such person meets one of the following conditions:
3) such person meets one of the following conditions:
These changes are partly driven by global tax reforms linked to the development of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project and the OECD Final Report on Designing Effective Rules for Controlled Foreign Companies (OECD BEPS Action 3: 2015 Final Report “Designing effective controlled foreign company rules”).
The list of states with preferential taxation is approved by the order of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, (http://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/V1800016404 ).
According to Article 645, income from sources in the Republic of Kazakhstan of a non-resident legal entity whose activities do not result in the formation of a permanent establishment in the Republic of Kazakhstan is subject to corporate income tax at the source of payment without deductions. The calculation and withholding of corporate income tax on income taxable at the source of payment is carried out by the tax agent:
At the same time, CIT at the source of payment is withheld by the tax agent, regardless of the form and place of payment of income to a non-resident.
at the following rates:
Income of a person registered in a state with preferential taxation, included in the approved scroll(http://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/V1800016404) are subject to withholding tax at the rate of 20 percent.
2. Personal Income Tax (PIT)
Income is subject to PIT at a rate of 10%, except for income in the form of dividends, which are taxable at a rate of 5%. Calculation, withholding and payment of tax on income taxable at the source of payment are carried out by tax agents.
3. Social tax
Social tax payers are: individual entrepreneurs, private practitioners, resident legal entities of the Republic of Kazakhstan, unless otherwise provided by the Tax Code, non-resident legal entities operating in the Republic of Kazakhstan through permanent establishments, non-resident legal entities operating through a structural unit that does not lead to the formation of a permanent establishment.
Social tax is calculated at the rate:
from January 1, 2018 - 9.5 percent;
from January 1, 2025 - 11 percent.
4. Value Added Tax (VAT)
The value added tax rate is 12 percent and is applied to the amount of taxable turnover and taxable imports.
Mandatory staging
Legal entities-residents, non-residents operating in the Republic of Kazakhstan through a branch, representative office, individual entrepreneurs, individuals engaged in private practice are subject to mandatory registration for value added tax, if the amount of turnover for the purposes of registration for VAT exceeds within a calendar year 30,000 times the size monthly calculation index established by the law on the republican budget and effective as of January 1 of the corresponding financial year (3,063 tenge from January 1, 2022).
These persons are required to submit to the tax authority at the location tax statement on registration for value added tax.
A tax application is submitted no later than ten working days from the end of the month in which the turnover exceeded the minimum turnover, in one of the following ways:
Registration as a taxpayer engaged in certain types of activities is subject to taxpayers engaged in the following types of activities:
Persons not listed above, i.e. not subject to mandatory registration for VAT in accordance with the Tax Code, are entitled to register for value added tax by filing tax statement on registration for value added tax in one of the following ways:
They do not have the right to voluntarily register for value added tax:
The Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan establishes a list of goods (services), the turnover and import of which are exempt from VAT.
5. Excises
The list of excisable goods, as well as the rates for calculating the amount of excises, are specified in Articles 462-463 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Objects produced on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan and imported into the territory:
1) all types of alcohol;
2) alcoholic products;
3) tobacco products;
4) products with heated tobacco, nicotine-containing liquids for use in electronic cigarettes;
5) gasoline (except for aviation), diesel fuel;
6) motor vehicles designed to carry 10 or more people with an engine capacity of more than 3000 cubic centimeters, with the exception of minibuses, buses and trolleybuses;
passenger cars and other motor vehicles designed to transport people with an engine capacity of more than 3000 cubic centimeters (except for cars with manual control or a manual control adapter specially designed for disabled people);
motor vehicles on the chassis of a passenger car with a platform for cargo and a driver's cab separated from the cargo compartment by a rigid stationary partition, with an engine capacity of more than 3000 cubic centimeters (except for vehicles with manual control or a manual control adapter specially designed for disabled people);
7) crude oil, gas condensate;
8) alcohol-containing medical products registered in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan as a medicinal product.
Excise rates are set in absolute amount per unit of measurement in physical terms. For example: 600 tenge/liter.
6. Rent tax
Payers: individuals and legal entities selling crude oil and crude oil products for export, except for :
Crude oil and oil products are considered to be crude goods classified in subheading 2709 00 single TN VED EAEU.
When exporting crude oil and crude petroleum products, the rental tax on exports is calculated on the basis of the world price per barrel of oil as a percentage. For example: up to $20 per barrel - 0%; up to $200 per barrel - 32%.
7. Taxation of subsoil users
Special payments and taxes of subsoil users include:
Order classifying a deposit (a group of deposits, a part of a deposit) as low-margin, high-viscosity, flooded, low-yield and depleted, their scroll and order taxation in terms of tax on the extraction of minerals are determined by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
8. Tax on property of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs
Property tax payers are:
A legal entity, by its decision, has the right to recognize its structural unit as an independent payer of property tax.
The general tax rate is 1.5% of the average annual value of objects of taxation, however, the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan provides for other rates depending on the status and type of activity of the taxpayer.
Property tax at a rate of 0.5 percent of the tax base is calculated by the following payers:
Tax on the property of individuals, the tax base for which is determined in accordance with with Article 529 of the Tax Code, is calculated depending on the value of objects of taxation at the rates specified in Article 531 of the Tax Code.
9. Land tax
Payers - individuals and legal entities having objects of taxation:
The object of taxation is a land plot (in case of common shared ownership of a land plot - a land share). Tax rates are established in Articles 503-510 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, depending on the purpose of land, their location, etc.
An organization implementing an investment priority project is a legal entity that simultaneously meets the following conditions:
An organization implementing an investment priority project to create new production facilities and (or) expand, upgrade existing production facilities:
1) reduces corporate income tax on income received from the implementation of priority activities specified in the investment contract by 100 percent.
Income of an organization implementing an investment priority project from carrying out other types of activities not related to priority ones is subject to corporate income tax in accordance with the generally established procedure.
An organization implementing an investment priority project maintains separate tax records of objects of taxation and (or) objects related to taxation in order to calculate tax liabilities for a priority type of activity under an investment contract.
Deadline for the application of this clause for investment contracts for the implementation of an investment priority project:
1) on the creation of new industries:
2) to expand and (or) upgrade existing production facilities, except for the cases specified in subparagraph 3) of this paragraph:
3) to expand and (or) upgrade existing production facilities with the phased commissioning of fixed assets that manufacture products, provided for by the investment contract for the implementation of an investment priority project:
Land tax
An organization implementing an investment priority project for the creation of new industries, when calculating land tax on land plots used for the implementation of an investment priority project, applies a coefficient of 0 to the corresponding land tax rates.
Deadline for the application of the first part of this clause:
1) begins on the 1st day of the month in which an investment contract for the implementation of an investment priority project for the creation of new industries was concluded;
2) ends no later than ten consecutive years, which are calculated starting from January 1 of the year following the year in which an investment contract for the implementation of an investment priority project for the creation of new industries was concluded.
These provisions do not apply in cases of property lease (lease), for use on other grounds of a land plot used for the implementation of an investment priority project, or part of it (together with buildings, structures, structures located on it or without them).
Property tax
An organization implementing an investment priority project for the creation of new industries, for facilities first put into operation in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, calculates property tax at a rate of 0 percent to the tax base.
Deadline for the application of this provision:
1) starts on the 1st day of the month in which the first asset is accounted for as fixed assets in accordance with international financial reporting standards and the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on accounting and financial reporting;
2) ends no later than eight consecutive years, which are calculated starting from January 1 of the year following the year in which the first asset is accounted for as fixed assets in accordance with international financial reporting standards and the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on accounting and financial reporting.
These provisions do not apply in cases of transfer of objects of taxation for use, trust management or lease.
The provisions of Article 712 of the Tax Code are applied if the investment contract for the implementation of an investment priority project for the creation of new industries provides for the application of:
VAT exemption for imports of raw materials and (or) materials
According to subparagraph 14 of paragraph 1 of Article 399 of the Tax Code the import of raw materials and (or) materials under an investment contract is exempted from value added tax, subject to the following conditions:
Exemption from value added tax on imports of raw materials and (or) materials under an investment contract is granted to legal entities of the Republic of Kazakhstan for a period of five consecutive years, starting from the 1st day of the month in which fixed assets are put into operation, provided for in the work program, which is annex to the investment contract concluded in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of investment. If the work program provides for the commissioning of two or more fixed assets, the calculation of the period for exemption from value added tax on imports of raw materials and (or) materials under the investment contract is made starting from the 1st day of the month in which the first fixed asset is put into operation according to the work program.
In case of violation within five years from the date of release of goods for free circulation or domestic consumption on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the requirements established by this subparagraph, the value added tax on imported raw materials and (or) materials is subject to payment with the accrual of penalties from the period established for payment value added tax on imported goods when they are imported, in the manner and amount determined by the customs legislation of the Eurasian Economic Union and (or) the customs legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The list of raw materials and materials, the import of which is exempt from value added tax under the investment contract, has been approved Order of the Minister for Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated February 27, 2018 No. 140
Special investment project
In accordance with subparagraph 15 of paragraph 1 of Article 399 of the Tax Code, the import of raw materials and (or) materials as part of vehicles and (or) agricultural machinery, as well as their components placed under the customs procedure of a free warehouse or free customs zone of the special economic zone "Qyzyljar" within the framework of the concluded special investment contract with the authorized body for the conclusion of special investment contracts by a legal entity that is:
In accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 399 of the Tax Code and a legal entity that has concluded a special investment contract with the authorized investment body is entitled to apply the exemption from paying value added tax when importing goods as part of finished products produced in the territory of a special economic zone or free warehouse, subject to the following conditions:
1. An organization or an individual entrepreneur operating in the territory of a special economic zone, when determining the amount of land tax, property tax and payment for the use of land plots payable to the budget, for objects of taxation (objects of taxation) located in the territory of a special economic zone and used in the implementation of priority activities, reduce the amount of calculated tax and (or) fees by 100 percent.
An organization operating in the territory of a special economic zone, when determining the amount of corporate income tax payable to the budget, reduces the amount of calculated corporate income tax by 100 percent on income received from the sale of goods, works, services resulting from the implementation of priority activities.
An organization or an individual entrepreneur operating in the territory of a special economic zone shall maintain separate tax records of objects of taxation and (or) objects related to taxation in order to calculate tax liabilities for the corresponding priority type of activity and other types of activity.
In the event that the management company of the special economic zone terminates the agreement on activities as a participant in the special economic zone in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on special economic and industrial zones, preferences for taxes and fees are canceled from the date of the beginning of the tax period in which the violation was committed, which is the reason for termination of the contract.
The management company of the special economic zone, no later than thirty calendar days from the date of termination of the contract, submits information about the participants in the special economic zone with whom the contracts were terminated, indicating the date of the violation that was the reason for terminating the contract, to the tax authorities at the location of such participants.
In this case, the taxpayer is obliged, no later than thirty calendar days from the date of termination of the contract, to submit additional tax returns for the tax period in which the violation was committed, which was the reason for terminating the contract.
For the purposes of applying the provisions of the Tax Code, an organization operating in the territory of a special economic zone is also recognized as a legal entity that simultaneously meets the following conditions:
Organizations and individual entrepreneurs operating in the territories of special economic zones do not include: