Kazakh National Bank against raising CIT rates for banksBanks in Kazakhstan shouldn’t be equated with gambling establishments and bookmakers, and the corporate income tax (CIT) rate shouldn’t be raised to 25% for the banks, the National Bank Chairman Timur Suleimenov said."This is just a proposal from the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance, and it hasn’t been finally shaped yet. As the financial regulator, we believe that under no circumstances should the banks be equated with gambling establishments or bookmakers," Suleimenov told journalists on the sidelines of a Friday session of the parliament.The past two years have been successful for the banks but in general the banking sector is not as profitable as the oil and gas sector or the gambling industry, according to Suleimenov."In our opinion, the banks shouldn’t be punished with a higher CIT rate, for it will entail a lot of consequences, including for investment activities and, of course, the cost of borrowed funds. We will continue talking with the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance in order to find a balanced approach to this matter," the chief banker said.However, if the CIT rate is raised for all sectors of the economy, the National Bank will change its position."If the rate is set at 25% for all sectors, including processing, oil and gas, and so on, we won’t mind if the rate is raised for the banks too. But it wouldn’t be right to increase it to 25% only for the banks while keeping it at 20% in all other sectors," Suleimenov said.Deputy Minister of National Economy Azamat Amrin said earlier this week that differentiated rates of corporate income tax (CIT) would be introduced in Kazakhstan."The head of state said that we need to introduce differentiated tax rates in the economic sectors. We have conducted some studies and proposed differentiated rates for the corporate income tax, but the base rate of 20% will still remain," Amrin said at a Monday briefing where he talked about the New Tax Code.A higher rate of 25% will be set for the banking sector and the gambling businesses. However, a 20% rate will be applied to the banks whenever they finance the real sector of the economy, according to Amrin."A 10% rate will be set for the high-value manufacturing industry and for financial leasing and social services (education and healthcare)," he said.Today’s 3% rate for agricultural producers will remain unchanged, he added.The New Tax Code will come into force in 2025. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX