Bashkiria began paying taxes
The first economic result of the presidential reform of the Russian government was summed up yesterday at a meeting between Vladimir Putin and First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrin. Bashkiria began paying taxes to the federal budget.

Kudrin reported to Putin on how the government was preparing the 2001 budget. After the meeting, the first deputy prime minister admitted that the president was primarily interested in how the budget would finance security forces next year. Judging by Kudrin’s phrase: “This work will continue in the near future,” Putin is demanding more than what the government can offer so far. This is not a sensation - the president made it clear how he understands the strengthening of the state. And the Ministry of Finance took the lead.
And then Putin and Kudrin discussed a real sensation: Bashkiria began transferring taxes to the federal budget on July 1. Someone may ask: what is surprising here? We will answer. Under Boris Yeltsin, Murtaza Rakhimov did not send money to the center. And Yeltsin completely put up with this, although it was clear to everyone that refusal to transfer taxes to the federal budget could be considered a formal sign of Bashkiria’s secession from Russia. For Putin, as you know, this is a matter of principle. He has repeatedly said that the main thing is to prevent the collapse of Russia. And immediately after his election as president, he demanded taxes from Rakhimov. Rakhimov then seemed to agree, realizing that Putin was not Yeltsin. So Kudrin’s report that money actually began to flow from Bashkiria can be considered the general’s report to the commander about the victory.
The victory was not easy. Suffice it to remember that in April of this year the government even filed a lawsuit against Bashkiria, demanding that it pay back the money it had not paid in recent years. However, Rakhimov’s current submission is to some extent logical. Everything is interconnected in the new budget. The Ministry of Finance allocates additional money to the army and special services. And for some reason governors and local presidents immediately begin to pay taxes.

ANDREY B-BAGROV

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 143 dated 08/05/2000, p. 2