Kazakh parliament approves govt report on 2023 budget
ASTANA. June 21 (Interfax) - The Majilis and the Senate, the lower and the upper chambers of Kazakhstan's parliament, approved the report of the government and the Supreme Audit Chamber on the execution of the country's republican budget in 2023 at a joint session on Friday.
Of the six party factions in the parliament, two voted against the report: the representatives of the People's Party of Kazakhstan and the Democratic Party Ak Zhol. The National Social and Democratic Party faction abstained from voting.
Out of the 49 members of the Senate that were present at the Friday joint session, 48 voted in favor of the reported; out of the 94 members of the Majilis, 73 voted for the report, 14 were against and 7 abstained from voting.
Finance Minister Madi Takiyev said earlier that GDP grew 5.1% in 2023 and inflation more than halved to 9.8% compared with the previous year.
Revenues to the republican budget in 2023 amounted to 19.296 trillion tenge of 99.9% of the target and expenditures totaled 22.417 trillion tenge or 99.6%. The figures for 2022 were 16.1 trillion tenge or 2.1% above target for revenue and 18.5 trillion tenge or 98.6% of the target for spending.
The budget deficit was 3.1 trillion tenge or 2.6% of GDP.
Republican budget revenue was 14.5 trillion tenge with a shortfall of 101 billion tenge. Tax revenues rose 29% to 12.9 trillion tenge. "The increase in taxes was owing to large one-time tax payments for a total amount of about 872 billion tenge, non-tax payments for a total value of 1 trillion tenge and additional revenues through tax and customs administration in the amount of 931 billion tenge," Takiyev said.
Large tax payments were made by Samruk-Kazyna (273.3 billion tenge), Uranium Group JSC (160 billion tenge), mobile operator Kcell (78.3 billion tenge), Mobile Telecom-Service (78 billion tenge) and TEX ALLIANCE LLP (55.2 billion tenge).
According to the government's data and state auditors as much as 489 billion tenge wasn't spent effectively last year.
