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A possible increase in VAT in Kazakhstan from 12% to 20% will lead to higher prices, lower real incomes and higher inflation. This forecast was made by Askar Kysykov, director of the Talap Center for Applied Research, on the Rossiya 24 TV channel. The Government of Kazakhstan is discussing tax reform in order to solve the problem of the state budget deficit. The reform involves an increase in VAT from 12% to 20%.
An expanded government meeting was held today with the participation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Opening the meeting, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that global processes can have a strong impact on the republic, which must be prepared for. At the same time, at the meeting, the Head of State emphasized that it is necessary to start living within your means, spending money only on solving the most important tasks. For more information, see the talk show "Results".
Only 16% of Kazakhstanis consider themselves healthy. A unique study on the health of Kazakhstanis was conducted by the TALAP Center for Applied Research. In Almaty, people move less and sleep less, in Astana, they are more stressed and eat fast food, in Shymkent, there is a greater emphasis on fruits and vegetables, but only 7.3% of Kazakhstanis regularly visit a doctor for preventive examinations.
A major exclusive in the early days of 2024 – an interview given by the head of state, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to the Egemen Qazaqstan newspaper. The president devoted part of the detailed conversation to discussing a painful topic for the Republic - domestic violence. According to Tokayev, he "supports the tightening of punishment for domestic violence."
The fourth piece concludes TALAP’s first series of publications on strategic foresight. If the previous documents presented the global context, the development of the approach, and the results of the pilot test, this infographic captures the method architecture itself: how expert data move from the initial corpus to managerial interpretation.
The next stage was a practical test of the developed approach using materials from the first quarter of 2026. TALAP processed more than 300 publications, posts and comments by economic experts in order to test the full cycle of the Expert Signal Radar.
After studying international practice, TALAP began developing its own approach to strategic foresight in Kazakhstan. Its main purpose is to connect expert observations, facts from the economic agenda and possible consequences of change into a single analytical framework.
