The tax for the self-employed is canceled: what benefits are waiting for private entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan

The draft of the new Tax Code provides for a special tax regime for the self-employed, which does not involve the collection of taxes from this category of payers, reports Zakon.kz .

The fact is that, according to the draft Tax Code, the self-employed will not need to register as an individual entrepreneur, explains Askar Kysykov, director of the TALAP Center for Applied Research.

This is a big step towards revitalizing the national economy, since any citizen will be able to engage in entrepreneurial activity without any formalities.

"Since registration as an individual entrepreneur is not provided, then the tax is also not provided. Instead, the self-employed will make a single payment, but not in favor of the state, but in favor of themselves."Askar Kysykov

The payment rate will be set at 4% of the self-employed person's income. It includes OPV (mandatory pension payments), CO (social contributions), VMS (contributions for compulsory health insurance). As you can see, this payment is not a tax, because the entire amount will be directed to pension, social and medical insurance of a person.

At the same time, it should be noted that the ceiling of monthly income for the application of such a tax regime will amount to 1.25 million tenge (340 MCI). If the ceiling is exceeded, the private trader will need to register the IP category.

"These are really preferential terms. If a self–employed person earns a million tenge and pays 40 thousand out of it, he becomes absolutely legal, and there will be no claims from the tax service against him."Askar Kysykov

At the same time, the self-employed will not need to deal with paper documents. The entire payment procedure will be carried out through mobile applications created by both the state and leading banks. There is no need to submit any more declarations to a self-employed citizen.

There is another interesting nuance. If a self-employed person works as a taxi driver through a popular aggregator company, then he does not need to make any payments at all - the company is obliged to pay 4% of his income for him, Askar Kysykov emphasizes.

Such a tax has been working in Russia for a long time, it has proven itself well, but our legislative version will be more attractive, the analyst is sure. Firstly, it is simpler, secondly, the amount of payment is less, and thirdly, the list of activities of the self-employed falling under the preferential tax regime will be expanded in Kazakhstan.

Today, the draft Tax Code provides for the following types of employment for this regime:

plastering works;
carpentry and carpentry;
floor covering and wall cladding works;
painting and glass works;
taxi activity;
freight transportation by road;
property management for remuneration or on a contractual basis;
activities in the field of photography;
translation (oral and written) business;
leasing of premises;
leasing of vehicles;
rental and property hiring (rental) of entertainment and sports equipment;
video and disc rental;
rental and property hiring (rental) of other personal consumption items and household goods;
leasing of agricultural machinery and equipment;
leasing of office machinery and equipment, including computer equipment;
services in the field of sports education and education of leisure professionals;
cultural education services;
other education services;
auxiliary educational services;
activities in the field of art;
repair of computers and peripheral equipment;
repair of communication equipment;
repair of personal items and household goods;
hairdressing services;
manicure and pedicure;
veterinary services;
land processing services;
residential cleaning and housekeeping services;
porter services at markets, train stations;
manufacture and repair of musical instruments;
grazing of pets.
It should be noted that after the abolition of the CAP, from January 1, 2024, self-employed citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan can choose either registration as an individual entrepreneur (where there are four special tax regimes to choose from), or annual self-filing of personal income tax returns at a rate of 10%.

For reference. At the beginning of 2024, about 1.2 million self-employed people worked in Kazakhstan.

To register self-employment, an individual must simultaneously meet these parameters:

do not have an official job (based on an agreement with an employer);
not to be registered as an individual entrepreneur;
do not register with the unemployment labor exchange;
do not hire hired employees.
If the draft Tax Code passes all approval procedures and the code is adopted, then only this proposal for the self-employed will allow at least 500 thousand Kazakhstani workers to come out of the shadows, the expert is convinced.