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Deputies of the Mazhilis (lower house of parliament) of Kazakhstan supported in the first reading a bill on amendments to the Tax Code affecting the taxation of mining.
The changes imply the introduction of differentiated tax rates for mining activities. According to Economy Minister Alibek Kuantyrov, the measure is aimed at “equalizing the load and discouraging the consumption of its own electricity.”
“The lower the cost of electricity, the higher the rate of payment,” he explained.
According to the document (available to ForkLog), the rate is determined depending on the average price of electricity for the reporting period:
- at a cost of 5-10 tenge per 1 kWh, the tax rate will be 10 tenge;
- 10-15 tenge per 1 kWh — rate of 7 tenge;
- 15-20 tenge per 1 kWh — rate of 5 tenge;
- 20-25 tenge per 1 kWh — rate of 3 tenge;
- 25 tenge and above for 1 kWh – the rate is 1 tenge.
When using renewable sources, regardless of the cost of electricity, the tax rate for miners will be 1 tenge per 1 kWh.
Vice-President of the Association of Blockchain and Data Center Industry of Kazakhstan Sergey Putra in a conversation with ForkLog noted that the deputies approved the bill only in the first reading and the document may still change.
Putra also said that the miners have not yet resumed the supply of electricity – the restrictions have been in effect since the beginning of the year.
Recall that from January 1, 2022, Kazakhstan introduced an additional tax fee of 1 tenge per 1 kWh of electricity consumed during mining.
In February, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed to raise the tax on the production of cryptocurrencies. The Ministry of Economy of the country proposed to increase the rate by 10 times, and also announced plans to tie the tax fee for miners to the value of cryptocurrencies.
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