NUGSE is pleased to present the regional edition of NORRAG Special Issue “Domestic Financing: Tax and Education” (NSI 05). The theme of this special issue is especially relevant in times of the current pandemic. Along the functioning of education systems during the pandemic, the fair distribution of tax revenues directed to education is important in the context of countries’ domestic financing. Articles in this regional edition may be useful for researchers that examine issues of education financing. Unfortunately, in the Kazakhstan context, there is a dearth of research on tax in education. As the guest editor of this special issue, David Archer (Head of Public Services, ActionAid, UK), points out in the Introduction to this special issue, tax issues are perceived as too technical and complicated. Therefore, in the academic community, it is generally believed that it is better to leave issues of taxation in the field of education to expert economists. This problem of studying taxes in education is also characteristic of the Kazakhstan context. However, we hope that the selected articles of this special issue will serve as a good example for researchers interested in the issues of taxes in education in post-Soviet states.

The structure of NSI 05 is divided into 6 parts. Part 1 discusses global perspectives of tax in education. Part 2 presents articles that focus on progressive and regressive national reforms. Part 3 discusses the role of local level activism on tax and education. Part 4 discusses the need for global reform: corporations and philanthropy. Part 5 discusses taxation and privatization of education. Part 6 discusses the role of social movements and struggles on education and tax. 

As a contribution to the development of research on tax and education, this NORRAG special issue includes two articles by Kazakhstani authors. These articles are placed in Part 5 of this special issue - Progressive and Regressive National Reforms. Both articles were written by colleagues from the NUGSE. The first article titled "Overview of Taxation in Education in Kazakhstan" was written by NUGSE Dean Aida Sagintayeva and NUGSE General Manager Baglan Matyganova. The second article, titled “Fiscal Decentralization and Per Capita School Financing in Kazakhstan,” was written by NUGSE professors Ali Ait Si Mhamed and Rita Kaša.

In their article, Aida Sagintayeva and Baglan Matyganova provide a brief overview of the current tax legislation in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of education, with a focus on the higher education sector. The authors consider the impact of the current taxation system on the cost of educational services, access to education and the quality of educational services. Ali Ait Si Mhamed and Rita Kaša discuss per capita funding and public-private partnerships as two relatively innovative school funding mechanisms in Kazakhstan. The authors consider the unequal allocation of education spending per student in regions, districts, and even in schools of the same type and size in the same district. We hope that you will find this collection of selected articles on tax and education useful in your own research initiatives. In case you are interested in watching the video recording of the recent global launch of regional editions of NSI 05 on Domestic Financing: tax and education, please follow this link.