Bloggers may soon be required to pay taxes, as they are being classified as business owners.
Member of Parliament Yerlan Sairov, in his parliamentary inquiry, pointed out that recently there has been an increase in illegal activities by online lottery organizers, commonly referred to as coach influencer, according to inbusiness.kz.
According to the deputy, they sell tickets and receipts, conduct illegal lottery games under the guise of selling travel packages, technology, jewelry, luxury real estate, and vehicles.
"In Kazakhstan, a new layer of opinion leaders has emerged, known as influencers and coaches, whose social media is filled with video content featuring paid courses, advertisements for goods, services, stores, and cafes. Some of them constantly showcase a lavish lifestyle on social media, raising concerns for the Ministry of Finance. Everyone should pay taxes. Therefore, I propose to develop clear criteria for classifying influencer incomes as entrepreneurial activity to avoid misinterpretations, as well as to strengthen control to prevent prize draws on social media to avoid instances of illegal activities," – said the deputy.
He also urged officials to conduct extensive outreach among bloggers regarding the necessity of adhering to the country’s legislation.
Overall, according to Sairov, 106 cases of illegal lottery organization and prize draws have been identified over the past year. Offenders have been fined a total of over 46 million tenge.
According to the member of parliament, in the USA, England, and China, content creators are required to pay taxes on the income generated from their activities. The tax rates in these countries are progressive and can reach up to 40%.
Recall that on February 18, it was reported that the State Revenue Committee identified cases of income understatement by bloggers and reassessed their taxes, totaling 53.3 billion tenge. The next day, the SGC withdrew 169 notifications sent to 93 bloggers, amounting to 9.8 billion tenge. The reason cited was technical errors.