Kazakhstan’s Ministry of the Economy wants to tax crypto mining in an effort to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
A proposal made by the government of Kazakhstan aims to impose a 15% flat-rate tax on crypto mining. The plan would use any funds accumulated through the tax to deal with the COVID-19 crisis in the country.
According to Forbes, the Ministry of the Economy hopes to combat COVID-19 by funding countermeasures through the collection of such taxes. This represents a departure from the nation’s previous statements, which indicated a different stance from the country. Officials stated that approximately 6% of the world’s Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate comes from Kazakhstan.
New electricity tariffs
The report adds that the government is looking to regulate crypto mining activities in accordance with new electricity tariff rules, which were recently imposed in the country.
Forbes states that accumulated tax revenues would help to rebuild the nation’s “infrastructure” and combat the pandemic’s effect on Kazakhstan’s economy.
Nearby, the Republic of Abkhazia is witnessing a surge in crypto mining activities despite them being illegal since 2018. Customs have reported that mining hardware worth over $589,000 has crossed the nation’s border in the past six months.
