The main legal act establishing and regulating taxation in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

 is the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Taxes and Other Obligatory Payments to the Budget (the “Tax Code

Tax code

In the UK, every person paid under the PAYE scheme is allocated a tax code by HM Revenue and Customs. This is usually in the form of a number followed by a letter suffix, though other 'non-standard' codes are also used. This code describes to employers how much tax to deduct from an employee. The...

”). The Tax Code was adopted on 10 December 2008 and came into effect as of 1 January 2009.

Historical Development

Kazakhstan declared its sovereignty as a member of the USSR in October 1990, and following the dissolution of the Soviet Union the country declared independence in December 1991. The first piece of Tax Legislation of the sovereign republic was the 1991 decree “On Taxes from Enterprises, Associations and Organizations”.

In 1995 the President

Nursultan Nazarbayev

Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...

 issued a Decree “On Taxes and Other Obligatory Payments to the Budget" (the “Decree”), which regulated the tax system in Kazakhstan. The Decree only provided for general information on taxes and referred to several instructions which provided for specific information on each of the taxes.

In 2002 the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Taxes and Other Obligatory Payments to the Budget (the “2002 Tax Code”) came into force. The 2002 Tax Code was a more comprehensive legal act than the Decree. In fact, the 2002 Tax Code regulated the relationships between the state and the taxpayer and provided for procedures on calculation and payment of taxes.

In 2008 the President announced that the Republic of Kazakhstan requires a new tax code, which should provide for lower tax rates and simplified tax administration procedures. As a result, the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Taxes and Other Obligatory Payments to the Budget (the “Tax Code”) was adopted on 10 December 2008 and came into force as of 1 January 2009.

Types of Taxes

Corporate income tax Corporate tax Many countries impose corporate tax or company tax on the income or capital of some types of legal entities. A similar tax may be imposed at state or lower levels. The taxes may also be referred to as income tax or capital tax. Entities treated as partnerships are generally not taxed at the...	The corporate income tax rate amounts to 20% in 2010, both for resident legal entities and non-resident legal entities operating in Kazakhstan through a registered permanent establishment (for non-residents also see branch profit tax below).
Value added tax Value added tax A value added tax or value-added tax is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting point of view, by this stage of its...	The value added tax rate is 12% and applies to sales turnover in Kazakhstan and to imports of goods and services to Kazakhstan. The turnover threshold for registering as a value added tax payer is KZT 38,190,000 or, approximately EUR 195,000. Export of goods is subject to 0% value added tax rate.
Personal income tax	Personal income tax is 10% for residents and 15% for non-residents.
Social tax	The social tax rate is paid by legal entities and amounts to 11% of salaries and in-kind benefits of employees.
Branch profit tax	A branch profit tax of 15% has to be paid on the net income after corporate income tax of permanent establishments of foreign legal entities operating in Kazakhstan.
Income tax withheld at source of payment	Income tax withheld at source of payment is levied on the income of non-residents from Kazakhstani sources. The tax rate is currently 15% in most cases. For residents of “tax heavens” the tax rate is 20%. A lower tax rate of 5% applies to income from insurance premiums payable in accordance with reinsurance risk agreements and to income from international transportation services
Property tax Property tax A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...	Property tax applies only to the buildings and the tax rate is 1,5% for legal entities.
Excise Excise Excise tax in the United States is a indirect tax on listed items. Excise taxes can be and are made by federal, state and local governments and are far from uniform throughout the United States...	Excise tax applies to alcohol (up to EUR 3 per liter), liquors (up to EUR 2,5 per liter), tobaccos (up to EUR 0,5 per piece), gasoline (up to EUR 25 per ton), crude oil (EUR 0 per ton), gas condensate (EUR 0 per ton) vehicles with engine volume of over 3 liters (EUR 0,5 per cubic centimeter of engine volume) produced in Kazakhstan or imported to Kazakhstan.
Rental tax on exports	The rental tax applies to export of crude oil, gas condensate and coal Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure... . The tax rate depends on the market price of crude oil and gas condensate (from 0% when the market price of one barrel is USD 20 to 32% when market price for one barrel is USD 200 or higher).
Subsurface use taxation	The subsurface use taxes include signature bonus and commercial discovery bonuses, payments to compensate historic costs Historical cost In accounting, historical costs is the original monetary value of an economic item. Historical cost is based on the stable measuring unit assumption. In some circumstances, assets and liabilities may be shown at their historical cost, as if there had been no change in value since the date of... , tax on the production of minerals and an excess profit tax.
Vehicle tax	The vehicle tax is levied based on engine volume, vehicle weight or quantity of seats.
Land tax	Land tax applies to legal entities possessing plots of land or the right to use them.
Other taxes, state fees and dues	Other taxes include among others special taxes for gambling businesses. The state further levies different kinds fees on registration, licensing, environment pollution, for the use of water resources, forests etc.