Putin instructed the government to consider providing Russians with a tax deduction for sports expenses

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to consider the possible provision of tax deductions for Russians from spending on various sports and recreation services. This was reported on the Kremlin website.

The order must be completed by September 10, 2018. The list of instructions was approved following a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports and the Supervisory Board of the autonomous non-profit organization Organizing Committee Russia-2018. It took place on July 20, 2018.

“Today, subscriptions to fitness clubs, swimming pools and some sections are quite expensive,” Mikhail Degtyarev, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Education, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs, told RBC, adding that the introduction of such a tax deduction will help develop mass sports in country.

Anton Sonichev, a partner at the Delovoy Farvater law firm, told the publication that the size of such a tax deduction would be small and unlikely to be an incentive to buy a membership card to a fitness club. However, according to Sonichev, the presentation of such a deduction "will become in demand."

In April, Russia launched a tax free system in test mode, which allows foreigners to return VAT on purchases in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnogorsk. According to the plan of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, by the end of the year tax free will be launched throughout Russia.