Country News

The tax legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan (RK) has been amended to include a number of changes affecting social contributions, VAT treatment of pharmaceuticals, mandatory state pension contributions and tax audit schedules.

The special regulation approved by the Ministry of Finance for transactions with offshore jurisdictions will have a number of implications in the area of compliance, notification procedures, relations with companies and preparation of justifications.

The new law raises the minimum salary for foreign highly qualified specialists, regulates the timeframe for issuing work permits and regulates other important aspects of HQS labour activity in Russia.

New presidential decree institutionalises the possibility of temporary management of assets of persons from "unfriendly" countries.

A new initiative by Russia's foreign and finance ministries to suspend double tax treaties with "unfriendly" countries might affect preferential rates and exemptions.