Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance is planning to introduce export duties on major types of mineral resources in an effort to reduce the country’s growing budget deficit. According to a report by Bloomberg, the government is expected to make a decision on this initiative by the end of August this year.
The proposed export taxes would target a range of domestic products, including coal, copper and iron ores, metal concentrates, ferroalloys, sulfur, and others. While the final list of taxable products has yet to be determined, it is expected to include those resources that would generate the most revenue for the state.
Local media will be provided with the official list only after a consensus is reached between the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken” and government bodies. At that point, the government will also finalize the exact rates for the export duties.
This initiative by the Ministry of Finance is not entirely new. Discussions about imposing such duties began a year ago, with the project initially justified as a means to stimulate the domestic processing of ferrous metals. Currently, only oil and alloy exporters are subject to such payments.
Kazakhstan’s budget is in urgent need of additional revenue. By the end of the first quarter of 2024, the deficit had reached 1 trillion tenge (a 24.2% increase year-on-year). In June, former Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov described the deficit as chronic and criticized the inefficient use of public funds.
