Central Asia has presented the bill for the ‘Google tax’: how much did Apple, Netflix and others pay in total?

In the first half of the year, foreign companies paid 659.6 million KGS in VAT to the Kyrgyz budget for the provision of electronic services. At the National Bank’s official exchange rate as at 30 June — 87.45 KGS to the dollar — this amounts to approximately $7.54 million.

Between January and June 2025, revenue stood at 540.2 million KGS, or approximately $6.18 million when converted at the same exchange rate. Thus, over the year, the budget received 119.4 million KGS, or $1.37 million, more. The increase in national currency terms was 22.1 per cent.

Currently, 88 foreign organisations pay the ‘Google tax’ in Kyrgyzstan. Among the registered companies are Google, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, Adobe, Yandex, Valve and other international platforms.

The ‘Google tax’ is not a separate tax, but VAT on electronic services provided by foreign organisations. It has been in force in Kyrgyzstan since 2022, with a rate of 12 per cent.

How much have other Central Asian countries collected?

Kazakhstan has recorded the highest revenue. From the start of 2026 up to 18 June, foreign internet companies paid over 40 billion KGS (or more than $82.3 million).

There were 131 foreign internet companies registered for tax purposes in Kazakhstan. Apple was named the largest taxpayer. Since 2022, it has paid 24 billion KGS, or around $49.4 million at the selected exchange rate. Other major taxpayers include Google and Valve.

However, the figures for Kazakhstan are not entirely comparable with those for Kyrgyzstan. In Kazakhstan, the tax applies not only to digital services but also to the sale of goods by foreign online platforms to individuals.

In Uzbekistan, between January and June 2026, 97 foreign providers of electronic services paid 143.8 billion sum (approximately $11.92 million).

A year earlier, revenue stood at 78.2 billion som, or around $6.48 million when converted at the same exchange rate. Over the course of the year, revenue increased by almost 84 per cent.

Statistics for Tajikistan for the first half of 2026 have not yet been published. For the whole of 2025, foreign online services transferred to the budget around 14 million somoni (approximately $1.5 million).

Thus, in the first half of the year, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan together collected $107.7 million, of which Kazakhstan accounted for over 76 per cent.