Increased tax burden should not affect Gazprom's financial results - Siluanov
MOSCOW. Sept 30 (Interfax) - The tax burden on Gazprom will increase a little bit next year, but that should not affect the gas giant's results, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Rossiya 24 television.
"As for the gas sector, we are proposing several revisions to taxation of our main company, Gazprom, maintaining the level of collection from the gas sector at a little above last year's. On the other hand, we are counting on more effective use of those resources that both the gas companies and the oil companies have. We see that there is still the ability to raise the effectiveness of investment spending, to better utilize the financial resources that the companies have accumulated," he said.
An increase in the tax burden on Gazprom next year of from 100 billion rubles to 170 billion rubles is being discussed, the head of the Finance Ministry's tax and customs policy department Alexei Sazonov told journalists.
"This year Gazprom is paying 100 billion rubles [in supplementary taxes] over and above existing legislation. Either that collection level will be maintained or it will rise to 170 billion rubles in 2017. This is currently being discussed," he said.
Proposals are to maintain the current level of taxation in the oil industry as well, Siluanov said.
"We reached agreement on maintaining the level of taxation in the oil sector at approximately this year's level. As this year, the collection level is about 150 billion rubles in additional funds that the oil companies are paying in comparison with previous years. This will roughly hold steady in real terms during the three-year period," he said.
