Members of the Mazhilis have expressed their views on the government's plans to revise the value-added tax (VAT) rate. Many of them perceive this as an attempt to address the budget deficit solely at the expense of taxpayers, reports a correspondent from the business information center Kapital.kz.
“VAT is a clear indication that we have a problem, and the budget is unbalanced. This is well known. Therefore, this decision will be discussed. We need to look at this issue, as nothing has been said about the budget expenditures. After all, we must not forget that last time we finished the republican budget with a deficit. At the same time, we allocated about 2 trillion tenge from the National Fund, of which 750 million went to the regions, despite the fact that there were substantial funds left in the free balances,” said Amanat faction member Albert Rau in the Mazhilis corridors.
He added that government members should come to the Mazhilis and justify their positions before attempting to resolve the budget deficit at the taxpayers' expense.
“If needed, you will call Zhumangarin to the Mazhilis… I believe he should present all the justifications. There will be many questions for him, and we will ask them,” he concluded.
The head of the Ak Zhol faction, Azat Peruashov, is also interested in a broad discussion regarding the new VAT rates.
“We will discuss it when it comes in the form of amendments to the new Tax Code. We have our own opinions and proposals, including various approaches based on the experience of the OECD and EU countries regarding the application of VAT and sales taxes. We will discuss all of this,” he stated.
Earlier, at an expanded government meeting, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin stated that the issue of increasing VAT has not yet been resolved, but discussions are ongoing. He noted that the 20% rate is one of the most common worldwide; however, the government has not yet reached a final decision.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov emphasized the need to implement a set of measures to revitalize the tax and budget system. He believes that the main tax burden falls on the wage fund, which means it impacts the cost price. “Even before the product reaches the shelf, the entrepreneur is already forced to pay a large portion of taxes. The government proposes to reduce the burden on the wage fund by shifting it to sales. To do this, it is necessary to increase the VAT rate while simultaneously reducing the social tax and mandatory pension contributions from employers,” said Olzhas Bektenov.
Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin explained that they intend to reduce the burden on the wage fund by up to 30%. It is also proposed to lower the VAT threshold from 78 million to 15 million tenge.