Taxes on Mineral Resource Extraction to be corrected - Minister Sultanov

    Minister of Economy and Budget Planning Bakhyt Sultanov met with the members of the Senate Committee for Finance and Budgeting on October 8.
    The minister reported to the committee on the peculiarities of a counter-cyclical fiscal policy during a crisis and noted the need for pursuing such a policy in Kazakhstan, which has an economy that primarily depends on world oil prices.
    "The amendments introduced into tax legislation are designed for the diversification of the economy and the stimulation of economic growth. Amid economic decline, businesses must be provided with additional opportunities for development, and we have done this through lowering the tax rates. We forecasted that as a result of cutting tax rates, businesses would save around KZT 500 billion to overcome problems and invest it into various projects", the minister said.
    As for the primary sector, Sultanov said they would reconsider the amount of taxes on mineral resource extraction since corporate income tax remains at 20% in next year’s budget.
    The new Tax Code provides for a replacement of royalty taxes with taxation of mineral resource extraction. Those subsoil users developing low-gain deposits are provided with preferential rates. In 2009 the tax rate was fixed at 5-18% for different deposits.
    In 2010 the government planned to raise the tax by 1% for all deposits, according to inform.kz.