Kazakh government abandons idea of taxing bank deposits

ASTANA. Oct 27 (Interfax) - Retail deposits in Kazakhstan's banks will remain free from any taxes, Minister of National Economy Alibek Kuantyrov said.

"We have abandoned this idea. No deposits will be subject to taxation," Kuantyrov said Friday on the sidelines of the "government hour" in the Senate, the upper chamber of the parliament.

It was reported earlier that Kazakhstan was considering the introduction of a progressive personal income tax (PIT) for citizens whose salaries exceed 40 million tenge per year.

"We are mulling over the introduction of (...) a progressive personal income tax for those who earn over 40-50 million tenge per year. In addition, there will be a progressive personal income tax on passive income such as individual deposits and investments in securities. But this will not apply to those people whose income is below 40-50 million tenge," Kuantyrov said earlier.

A new Tax Code is being developed in Kazakhstan, and it is expected to be adopted in 2025. Now, amendments to the Code are under discussion. The proposed amendments include a progressive PIT scale compared with today's fixed PIT rate of 10%, which applies to all citizens irrespective of their income, and which has already been in effect since 2007.