Zero option

The income tax rate will be 23% if the State Duma on June 21 votes for the compromise found last Friday by the government and the budget committee on the corresponding chapter of the second part of the Tax Code. There will be no income tax benefits at all.

Initially, the head of the Ministry of Economic Development German Gref and Deputy Minister of Finance Sergei Shatalov, representing the White House at a meeting of the budget committee, proposed reducing the rate from 35 to 25%. However, according to the results of rating voting among members of the budget committee, the rate that received the largest number of votes was 23%. This decision somewhat annoyed Mr. Shatalov.

However, the “zero option” can still be considered a good way out of the impasse in which the government and the Duma find themselves. At the beginning of June, Sergei Shatalov even said that in the event of further disagreements with the deputies, the government would not insist on the adoption of the head of the Tax Code on the income tax this year.

However, the real lobbying battles are yet to come. Already at a meeting of the budget committee, Gennady Kulik raised the issue of maintaining benefits for agricultural producers. German Gref responded by saying that their interests would be taken into account in a special law on imputed tax on agricultural producers, which the government would develop. Mr. Kulik was not too satisfied with this answer and will certainly try to change the situation directly at the plenary session. It can be assumed that Gennady Kulik will not be the only deputy insisting on at least a small benefit. However, it seems that the government does not intend to retreat anymore.

Leonid PETROV