Senate proposes lowering VAT thresholds

Tengrinews.kz – During today’s extended Senate session on the draft of the new Tax Code, deputies proposed lowering the threshold for mandatory registration for value-added tax (VAT).
Bekbolat Orynbekov, a member of the Committee on Finance and Budget, presented a report outlining the key changes proposed as part of the tax and budget reform.

"It is proposed to lower the turnover threshold for mandatory VAT registration from 20,000 Monthly Calculation Indexes (MCI) — 78.6 million tenge in 2025 — to 10,000 MCI (39.3 million tenge in 2025)," noted Makezhanov.

The committee emphasized that this change aims to combat so-called “business splitting” — when companies artificially divide into several legal entities to stay below the threshold and avoid paying VAT.
During earlier discussions of the new Tax Code, the government had proposed lowering the threshold to 15 million tenge, which sparked heated debates among business communities and experts. Opponents of the change argued that it could complicate the operations of small businesses, forcing many entrepreneurs into the general taxation regime and causing additional administrative and financial burdens.
As a result, deputies adopted a compromise decision: to set the new threshold at 10,000 MCI (39.3 million tenge in 2025). This reduction still addresses the issue of business splitting while taking into account the interests of small and micro businesses.
The proposed amendments to the Tax Code are being reviewed today in the first reading. If the draft law is approved, it will be revised based on feedback and proposals, after which it will be submitted for a second reading.