Russia not planning to introduce sales tax - Siluanov
ST. PETERSBURG. May 25 (Interfax) - There are no plans to introduce a sales tax in Russia, First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said during a session on taxes at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"No," he said when asked by the chairman of the State Duma's Budget Committee, Andrei Makarov, whether there would be a sales tax.
Siluanov also reiterated the Finance Ministry's opposition to altering the individual income tax. "Our achievement in the framework of the taxable income of individuals is a low taxation rate and the absence of opportunities for tax evasion or other funny business. Therefore, the 13% rate that we have all been paying, this is a good principle for income taxes, so that there is no possibility of evasion. We propose leaving the income tax situation unchanged," he said while noting that the government has the final say on the issue.
Siluanov said he was not able to discuss the government's specific tax change proposals. "We still haven't drawn a line under this in the government. I think we will do this in the near future. Since we are planning to make the main tax decisions in the spring session, we need to do this fairly quickly," he said.