Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The Kazakh government has initiated a tax amnesty for entrepreneurs to remove their last year's penalty fees and fines.

The news was announced by Chairman of the Board of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs (NCE) Ablay Myrzakhmetov on June 25.

"The amnesty will allow the entrepreneurs to spend the released funds on the development and expansion of business. The amount of the fines and penalty fees is approximately $195 billion ($1= 183.49 tenge)," Myrzakhmetov told journalists.

He noted a large number of enterprises in the country have not gone bankrupt over the years due to their inability to write off fines and penalties mainly because the tax audit procedures in the country take a very long time.

"The tax amnesty will quickly resolve this problem," Myrzakhmetov added.

The Kazakh government decided to accelerate adopting measures aimed at improving the investment climate in the country after President Nursultan Nazarbayev said works on attracting foreign investments in the country is not carried out at a sufficient level.

Earlier Deputy Economy and Budget Planning Minister Marat Kusainov said Kazakhstan will offer benefits to foreigners investing at least $20 million in new projects in the country.

Also, the country plans to adopt a draft law on the improvement of investment climate, which is aimed at improving the investment climate, stimulating further activities of investors, providing a mechanism for the investment incentives provision through concluding investment contracts, as well as ensuring the state support for investors, implementing investment projects in important sectors.

The stimulus package includes some additional measures of government's support for investors within the framework of concluded contracts. They include exemption from the payment of corporate income tax for ten years, exemption from land tax for 10 years, exemption from property tax for eight years, state compensation up to 30 percent of capital expenses of the investor after commissioning of the facility (investment subsidy).

Kazakhstan is set to contribute to investment by providing a guaranteed order issued by the related organizations (in case of concluding investment contracts with them). The principle of 'single window' will be implemented based on laws developed by the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies. It is aimed at minimizing the participation of investors who have concluded a contract for the collection and preparation of documents and limiting their direct contact with the subjects of public services.