Mazhilis in first reading approves bills establishing benefits for social enterprise

Members of the Mazhilis of the Kazakh Parliament proposed to provide preferential tax treatment to social entrepreneurs. This includes reducing taxes on employees’ training and retraining costs. The main goal of the bill is to consolidate support measures for social entrepreneurship. A number of tax preferences for such enterprises have been in place for several years, member of the Mazhilis Yekaterina Smyshlyayeva said. The introduction of these rules will significantly expand the list of business entities claiming preferential taxation. Mazhilis members also approved the draft amendments on the development of social entrepreneurship. The businesses will be able to receive grant support, subsidized loan rates, as well as assistance in providing infrastructure and finding investment partners. The document clearly defines the status of a social entrepreneur, and also envisages the creation of a register of businesspeople in this field.

“According to the bill, an entrepreneur must fulfill at least one of the following conditions in order to obtain the status. First, it is creating safe jobs for socially vulnerable groups of citizens in the amount of at least 50 percent of the total number of employees. Second, it is producing goods intended for socially vulnerable groups of the population whose sales income must be at least 50 percent of the enterprise’s total income. Third, it’s providing social services, as well as services in the fields of healthcare, education and training, culture and sports,” Smyshlyayeva said.

Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova