Government agencies will implement KPIs to address the shadow economy.

Over the past five years, the share of the shadow economy in Kazakhstan's GDP has been steadily decreasing: from 23.69% in 2019 to 17.52% in 2023. This decline is primarily attributed to the gradual shift towards cashless payments.

The highest proportion of the shadow economy remains in wholesale and retail trade (3.53%), healthcare (2.04%), agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1.96%), construction (1.92%), and education (1.49%).

“We see the solution to the long-standing issue of the shadow economy through fiscal reform involving sectoral, judicial, and supervisory government bodies. This collaboration will help identify abuses that lead to the loss of state resources,” noted Deputy Finance Minister Yerzan Birzhanov at a government meeting focused on enhancing tax administration.

It is noted that by 2025, the goal is to reduce the shadow economy indicator to 15% of GDP. To achieve this, the Ministry of Finance proposes to include problematic sectoral issues that hinder the exit from the shadow economy as KPIs in the development plans of government agencies.

“Development plans for government agencies should be viewed from a new perspective, with a service-oriented approach and digitization of sectors. This will allow us to move away from a formal approach to implementing the planned measures under the Comprehensive Action Plan to combat the shadow economy. We propose that government agencies include KPIs with measures to counter the shadow economy in their development plans for 2025-2027,” he suggested.

All approaches, steps, and actions taken by government agencies to reduce the shadow economy will be compiled into a roadmap. Additionally, Deputy Prime Minister Serik Jumangarin tasked the Ministry of Finance, together with the Ministry of Justice, sectoral government bodies, and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken,” to develop proposals to enhance the effectiveness of tax inspections and controls and to formulate recommendations for further reducing the share of the shadow economy.