Kazakhstan plans getting financial information on its residents from more than 90 countries around the world starting from 2017

Almaty. August 4. Silkroadnews - Kazakhstan plans getting financial information on its residents from more than 90 countries around the world starting from 2017, KazTAG reports.

“For today Kazakhstan has ratified the Strasbourg Agreement providing for interchange of data on property and funds held abroad. I note there is a number of offshore countries that have also joined the convention; besides, within the framework of cooperation with the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – Silkroadnews) we have prepared and already claimed a participation in the international agreement on data exchange that assumes an annual exchange on open account data”, director of the department of development and modernization of the State Revenue Committee (SRC) of the Finance Ministry Yerzhan Birzhanov said at the press conference in Astana on Thursday.

“These are all measures allowing us to trace the individuals who have not brought their funds and real estate out of the shadows. A separate work will be carried out with them. Till the end of the year people still have a chance to legalize their property and funds”, he added.

The official reminded, the first stage on a general declaration in Kazakhstan shall start as of 2017 and then as of 2020 all the citizen of the country will be required to declare their incomes.

In his turn, deputy head of risk management, analysis and statistics department of the SRC Yerlan Sagynaev explained, at present more than 90 countries are the members to the Strasbourg Convention, including more than 20 offshore jurisdictions. With this the SRC officials are working to sign the agreement to the Convention to introduce a full interchange of information between the parties to the Strasbourg Convention of 2017.

“Since 2017 this agreement will come into full force, and then we will have a full interchange of information with all the parties to the convention allowing us to carry out a reconciliation for our residents”, he said.

“In case of any discrepancies, of course, there shall be due legal consequences in the form of administrative (punishment – Silkroadnews) and, possibly, criminal liability, depending on the tax evasion amount”, Y. Sagynaev summarized.