Kazakhstan's Finance Minister Madi Takiyev proposed canceling the mandatory fourth stage of universal income declaration, which was set to affect about 8 million Kazakhstanis in 2025. He announced this at a government meeting on November 19, as reported by Tengrinews.kz.
According to the official, the exemption will apply to more than 90 percent of individuals — employees of private structures, pensioners, housewives, students, and other categories of citizens.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov supported this proposal and instructed the Ministries of Finance, National Economy, and Justice to prepare the necessary legislative amendments within three days and then submit them to parliament for consideration.
«Currently, more than 4 million people submit declarations. Among them are civil servants, representatives of the quasi-public sector, and business. It was planned that in 2025 all other categories of citizens would submit declarations. This caused concern among the population, which the head of state drew attention to,» said Olzhas Bektenov.
The Prime Minister explained the decision by stating that the government has already strengthened financial and currency control. State agencies' databases are «maximally digitized,» and data exchange on accounts is established within the framework of international agreements. Digital services are widely spread. Therefore, there is generally all information on individuals' assets.
It is proposed to maintain declaration for the following categories of citizens: those with assets outside Kazakhstan; those who made purchases worth more than 20,000 MCI (74 million tenge ($149,000) in 2024) during the year; those who received income taxed independently; and those who decided to report their income voluntarily.
The first stage of universal declaration in Kazakhstan began on January 1, 2021. Declarations began to be submitted by persons holding responsible positions in government structures and their spouses. In the second stage — from January 1, 2023 — budget workers, civil servants, and employees of quasi-state companies, along with their spouses, began submitting declarations. The third stage of universal declaration began on January 1, 2024 — it was the turn for businessmen — managers, founders, and participants of legal entities along with their spouses, individual entrepreneurs, and their spouses to submit declarations.
In the final stage, all other Kazakhstanis were supposed to start submitting declarations. The day before, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, speaking at a forum of agricultural workers, called for a review of this norm.
The proposal to cancel the mandatory fourth stage of universal declaration was first voiced on November 14 in a petition signed by Aidar M. and posted on the E-Petition.kz portal. The author pointed out that tax authorities already have access to all necessary information about the property and income of Kazakhstanis, many of whom spend about half of their salary on food and have high levels of debt.
