BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. Kazakhstan introduced a lodging tax for each foreign tourist from the start of 2023, Yerzhan Yerkinbayev, the Vice Minister of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan, said, Trend reports, citing Kazakh media.
The maximum tax rate for foreign guests of Astana and Almaty is set at 5 percent of the total cost of accommodation. The information on the minimum tax rate has not been disclosed.
Yerkinbayev noted that tax rates for other regions were not approved yet.
The vice minister said, that 2.5 billion Kazakh tenge ($5.4 million) are forecasted to be collected as a result of a tax introduction in 2023.
He concluded by saying that the finances collected will be used to carry out measures aimed at fostering the development of regional tourism infrastructure.
Initially, Kazakhstan adopted legislation on introducing a bed tax for foreign guests starting from 1 January 2022. The tax rate for the prior year was set at zero percent to assist the growth of the tourism sector.
Considering the improving situation in the tourism sector, the government amended the tax rate to increase the opportunities for the growth of the sector. Around 610,000 foreign tourists visited Kazakhstan in 2022, compared to 330,000 visitors in 2021.
