Kazakhstan to increase minerals extraction tax on key metals

NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) - Kazakhstan, a major metals producer, plans to increase the minerals extraction tax rate by 50% for exchange-traded metals and by 30% for other commodities such as iron ore and chrome, Economy Minister Alibek Kuantyrov said on Wednesday.

The Central Asian nation is a major exporter of copper and zinc, and also produces iron ore, alumina, chrome, gold, silver and other metals in significant quantities.

Kuantyrov presented the tax increases, which also includes provisions for higher taxes on cryptocurrency mining and tobacco products, in parliament whose lower house approved it in the first reading on the same day.

The tax increases are part of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's push to boost budget revenue and redistribute wealth among the former Soviet republic's population of 19 million.

(Reporting by Tamara Vaal; writing by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by Jason Neely)