Land tax to change in Almaty: Who will be affected

Tengrinews.kz — Almaty is set to revise its price zoning scheme, which directly determines land tax rates. The higher the economic potential, the more a landowner pays per hundred square meters. The existing zones will be reduced from seven to five. Tengrinews explains how this will affect tax amounts.
Land tax in Almaty to increase by 26 percent for some, decrease for others
The previous system
In 2014, 23,200 hectares of land from the Almaty region were incorporated into Almaty city. At the time, these areas virtually lacked the necessary infrastructure. Consequently, they were assigned to the fifth, sixth, and seventh appraisal zones, explained Gulnara Kokobayeva, head of Almaty’s Land Relations Department, during a Maslikhat session. This formed the current price zoning scheme established in 2015.
The new system
Since then, these districts have undergone significant change and development. Transport and engineering infrastructure have been modernized, and new social and residential facilities have been built.

"As a result, there is a clear need to revise the current price zoning scheme and align it with the city's modern development. We propose reducing the number of zones while expanding their territories. Consequently, the tax may increase by up to 26 percent for some areas, decrease by up to eight percent for others, and remain unchanged for certain plots due to boundary adjustments. Essentially, changes in tax depend primarily on which appraisal zone a specific plot falls into after the boundaries are clarified," Kokobayeva explained.

Notably, these tax changes apply specifically to commercial land. Owners of land designated for individual housing construction (IHC) will not be affected by the innovations.

"I also want to note that following recommendations from the expert council, the current correction factors have been slightly reduced. The factor for Zone 1 remains the same, while Zone 2 decreases from 1.43 to 1.4. While seemingly minor, this matters when calculating the total tax amount. For Zone 3, it drops from 1.35 to 1.3; Zone 4 from 1.27 to 1.2; and Zone 5 from 1.2 to 1. Thus, while reducing the total number of zones from seven to five, the coefficients for zones two through five have also been adjusted downward," specified Gulnara Kokobayeva.

Where land tax will rise and where it will fall
To clarify the changes, the speaker provided specific examples for certain commercial territories.
Zone 1. For example, while the area of Zone 1 was 4,505.92 hectares in 2015, the new scheme will see it exceed 11,506 hectares by incorporating land from zones 2, 3, and 4. For some territories, such as those within the Abai – Nazarbayev – Al-Farabi – Zharokov boundaries, the tax amount will remain unchanged.

Sairan Microdistrict — tax will increase by 202 tenge (four percent) per hundred square meters.
Ermensai Microdistrict — tax will increase by 434 tenge (11 percent) per hundred square meters.
Shymbulak Mountain Resort and Medeu High-Altitude Sports Complex — tax will rise by 666 tenge (18 percent) per hundred square meters.

Zone 2. Its area will expand from 4,481 to 29,175 hectares. This zone includes territories where the tax burden will become more significant, as well as areas where it will decrease.

"The tax amount per hundred square meters in this zone is currently 4,053 tenge. For example, within the boundaries of Tole Bi – Zhandosov – Altynsarin – Zhubanov – Utegen Batyr, the tax will decrease by 86 tenge per hundred square meters, or two percent. For the Kalkaman-2 microdistrict, the tax will increase by 145 tenge. In the mountain cluster, the increase will be 377 tenge per hundred square meters, or approximately 10 percent. In the area of Bukhtarminskaya, Kuldzha Tract, Mailin, and the Zhas Kanat microdistrict, the tax will increase by 464 tenge, or 12 percent. Near the ice palace or the Western Polycenter, the increase will be 579 tenge per hundred square meters, or 16 percent," Gulnara Kokobayeva explained.

Zone 3. This zone will grow from 8,612 to 14,429 hectares. It will partially incorporate land from the former fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh zones.

"The current tax per hundred square meters in this area is 3,763 tenge. In the Akzhar microdistrict, the tax will increase by 87 tenge per hundred square meters, or two percent. In the Shughyla microdistrict, it will rise by 289 tenge, or about eight percent. Near the railway station, the increase will be 18 percent, or 579 tenge. The largest increase is planned for the Industrial Zone territory, rising by 782 tenge per hundred square meters, or 26 percent," said Gulnara Kokobayeva.

The maximum tax hike will hit Almaty's Industrial Zone. Entrepreneurs there will have to pay 26 percent more per hundred square meters than before.