Kazakhstan mulls becoming a tax haven

Kazakhstan is considering legislation to attract large foreign companies to be based within Kazakhstan’s tax jurisdiction, Novosti Kazakhstan quoted Head of the Finance Ministry’s Tax Committee Daulet Ergozhin as saying. “Taxes are being raised all around the world, with new taxes being introduced and tax burden increasing. We do not introduce any new taxes, nor do we raise tax rates. Why can’t this be used to attract international companies to get registered in Kazakhstan to the benefit of Kazakhstan (…)?”, Mr. Ergozhin told journalists September 2. When speaking of companies that could be interested in the initiative, Mr. Ergozhin reminded that many mining and oil companies operating in Kazakhstan are based in countries offering favorable tax regimes, e.g. the Netherlands. “We do not mean an offshore zone. It’s just normal conditions for doing business”, he added. According to Mr. Ergozhin, the issue is at its early stage of debates. The Tax Committee is to make specific suggestions for the Government’s consideration. Should this initiative drum up support, it will require new legislation, notably on corporations. The current corporate income tax rate stands at 20%.