New excise taxes and bank transfers: Aimagambetov discussed amendments to the Tax Code draft.

The member of the Mazhilis believes that the proposed amendments are of fundamental importance for citizens and the economy - he also added that they are still being discussed in a working group.

According to Aimagambetov, the gambling business, especially betting shops, has significant financial potential. Currently, the draft Tax Code provides for taxation at a rate of 10%.

"Yes, this is several times more than what it is now, but we proposed to double it to 20%. This could provide the budget with hundreds of billions of tenge in additional revenue," the parliamentarian believes.

He noted that in the government's draft, the corporate income tax (CIT) for banks is set at 25% - it has been proposed to increase it to 30%.

"This is a fair measure, considering the high profitability of the banking sector, especially in light of the increased dividends, which have risen significantly," Aimagambetov pointed out.

The deputy believes that increasing excise taxes on alcoholic beverages is logical, as these are not essential products.

Aimagambetov also commented on trans fats. According to him, these are cheap yet extremely harmful substances that are widely used in the food industry.

"Following the example of many European countries, we proposed to introduce excise taxes on them to reduce their use and encourage producers to switch to natural oils, plus generate income for the budget," he noted.

The deputy emphasized that introducing VAT on medicines is unacceptable, as it would directly impact the most vulnerable groups of citizens: the elderly, children, and people with disabilities. Otherwise, the prices of medicines would increase significantly.

"We proposed to maintain the current norm that exempts medicines from VAT," he wrote.

He also mentioned that the introduction of VAT would raise the cost of treatment for citizens, especially pensioners and people with disabilities, which is critical given the limited access to medical services.

"We also proposed to reduce the CIT rate on medical services (currently, they are not subject to CIT)," Aimagambetov added.

"The government's proposal to introduce VAT on bank transfers and other banking operations is nonsensical. Already, the cost of transferring money between banks has increased, possibly in anticipation of the VAT introduction (for example, from 150 tenge to 200 tenge between Halyk Bank cards and other banks), and adding VAT would further increase citizens' expenses. We proposed to abandon this norm to prevent price hikes on basic financial services," the deputy stated.

Aimagambetov noted that endowment funds play a crucial role in financing long-term social and educational projects.

It was proposed to exempt donation amounts from taxation to encourage citizens and companies to participate in charity.

"We suggested not to increase it so sharply, setting the tax rate at 8% instead of 12%. This issue is often raised during discussions with businesses, including meetings with members of the Public Chamber at the Mazhilis," the deputy noted.

He also added that, in addition to these amendments, the feasibility of introducing excise taxes on high-sugar beverages exceeding the allowable limits is being discussed. This is a complex issue that has sparked much debate. Some believe such measures could help reduce sugar consumption, while others argue it would place an additional burden on citizens.

The Mazhilis member also spoke about optimizing expenditures.

"One cannot simply increase taxes without reviewing the expenditure structure. If the problems with the budget's revenue side are evident, a logical step would be to optimize non-priority expenses, as the head of state has already instructed," he is confident.

According to Aimagambetov, the construction of administrative buildings for government agencies, massive stadiums, and concert halls, as well as holding image events and forums, should be reduced.

"This is just part of our proposals; there are also amendments regarding the cancellation of numerous and unjustified tax benefits, etc. More to come," the deputy wrote.

Recall that in his address to the people of Kazakhstan in September 2024, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated that haste should not be allowed in the matter of adopting the new Tax Code and suggested postponing it until next year.

The president also stated that the new Tax Code is intended to reboot the existing system and mentioned the need to establish differentiated rates for individual income tax and to abandon a punitive approach to tax administration.

Following this, the Ministry of National Economy explained how the new Tax Code would be amended.