Tax guidelines for crypto mining pass the first reading in Kazakhstan

The gradual scale would impose the highest taxes on the cheapest electricity sources.

Kazakhstan, one of the global leaders in crypto mining with a recent history of hostile measures against the industry, is taking a step toward a comprehensive fiscal framework for mining operators. 

On Thursday, May 25, the lower chamber of Kazakh parliament, Mejlis, passed in the first reading the amendments to the national tax code, regulating the fiscal burden on crypto mining. These amendments suggest graded tax rates tied to the electricity prices consumed by mining entities.

For example, the cheapest grade of electricity prices, 5 to 10 tenges ($0,012–0,024) for Kwh, would come with an additional burden of 10 tenges ($0,024). For 10–15 tenges ($0,024–0,036) per Kwh, the tax would be 7 tenges ($0,017) and for 20–25 tenges ($0,048–0,060) per Kwh — 3 tenges ($0,0072).

Proposed amendments overstride the earlier initiative to raise the price for electricity from $0.0023 per Kwh to $0.01 for crypto miners, voiced by Kazakhstan’s First Vice Minister of Finance Marat Sultangaziyev back in February.

Further reading: Go green or die? Bitcoin miners aim for carbon neutrality by mining near data centers

The chamber indicated that the amendments are also aimed at creating a stimulus for using renewable sources of energy. In the case of green energy the tax would be only 1 tenge ($0,0024) without any regard to the electricity cost.

As Kazakh Economic Minister Alibek Kyantyrov stated, the measures are intended to “level the load and de-stimulate the consumption from private sources of energy”.

On April 29, the country’s Minister of Digital Development compelled digital mining businesses to provide information about electricity consumption and “technical specifications” for connection to the power grid 30 days before starting operations. Earlier, in March, 106 illicit crypto mining operations were shut down following raids by the Financial Monitoring Agency, which seized over 67,000 pieces of equipment at the time.