Kazakhstan's tax reform is driving an active restructuring of the business environment: the total number of business entities, including the self-employed, rose 32.5% to reach 3.2 million. Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin announced this at a government meeting, according to infohub.kz.
According to the head of the Ministry of National Economy, the number of entrepreneurs operating under the generally established value-added tax payer regime increased by 28%.
"Conditions have been created for citizens to exit the shadow economy. A total of 981,000 people have registered as self-employed, of whom 807,000 entered the tax register for the first time. In the first nine months of 2026, 277,000 new business entities were registered, including 34,700 legal entities and 242,300 individual entrepreneurs. Over the same period, 19,700 legal entities and 356,000 individual entrepreneurs were deregistered," he said.
The minister added that the termination of an individual entrepreneur's registration does not mean an actual cessation of economic activity.
"Of the 356,000 individual entrepreneurs who closed, 42.6% had no income in 2025, while 20.8% switched to the self-employed regime and continued their activities," the head of the Ministry of National Economy explained.