Kazakh government introduces tax relief to support creative industry

The Kazakh government is reducing taxes for filmmakers, musicians and other artists in a bid to boost the country’s creative industry, the Information Ministry said on Wednesday.

Under a corresponding government resolution, from January 2024 the industry is exempt from the three basic taxes for businesses and will instead pay a single tax.

The tax for individual creators will be from 2 to 4 percent of revenues from selling their work, and for limited liability companies — 8 percent, provided their annual turnover does not exceed 2.2bn tenge (4.8m dollars), and they do not employ more than 200 people.

The measure applies to a total of 40 creative activities, including film production, making TV programmes and other video content, music recording, theatre production, architecture, design, crafts, folk art and making souvenirs.

Information Minister Aida Balayeva said in a statement the measure was worked out based on “a thorough analysis of international experience”.

She said the practice in countries with the most advanced creative industries, such as the UK and South Korea, showed that tax breaks were the most efficient way to support artists.

The move is in line with President Tokayev’s instructions to develop the national creative industry, she said.

“It is one of the first planned steps aimed at a large-scale development of the sector. I am sure it is the beginning of a great journey,” she added.

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