Vice Finance Minister Explains Shortfall in Budget Revenues

At an extended Finance and Budget Committee meeting, Vice Minister of Finance Daulet Temirbekov explained why Kazakhstan fell short in replenishing the state treasury last year, Orda.kz reports.

Budget revenues for 2024 totaled 19.6 trillion tenge, falling short of the planned 20.2 trillion — a performance of 97.2%. Expenditures reached 23.6 trillion tenge, resulting in a deficit of 3.6 trillion tenge, or 2.7% of GDP. This deficit was covered by domestic borrowing.

The most significant underperformance came from value-added tax (VAT) collection.

The VAT target was missed by 642 billion tenge. Contributing factors included reduced imports from third countries, increased tax exemptions, and increased VAT refunds to businesses.

At the same time, the government fully settled its 2023 VAT refund obligations, totaling 594 billion tenge.

Nearly 200 companies were affected. Declines in extraction, production, and logistical challenges led to a 1.4 trillion tenge drop in their overall budget contributions.

Despite the shortfall, national debt remains within acceptable limits.

As of January 1, 2025, it stood at 31.8 trillion tenge, or 23.8% of GDP. The Vice Minister stressed that Kazakhstan remains in a "safe zone" regarding public debt, which is not expected to exceed the 25% threshold in the coming years.

Temirbekov also reported that the Ministry of Finance is intensifying efforts to digitalize tax and customs systems.

Deputy Speaker Daniya Espayeva criticized the government for repeating past mistakes, citing poor planning, a growing deficit, and inefficient use of funds.

The Supreme Audit Chamber identified 862 billion tenge in violations, and noted that inefficient spending had nearly doubled. The Finance, Labor, and Transport ministries left over 20 billion tenge unspent.

The budget was revised 12 times over the past year, and national debt increased by 17%.

Original Author: Artyom Volkov