Financing for Siberia to be cut due to budget problems - ministry
OMSK. Oct 2 (Interfax) - Financing federal programs under a development strategy for Siberia will be reduced due to budget restrictions and the need to allocate funds to the Far East due to the floods.
"The total volume of funding for federal programs under the development strategy for Siberia to 2020 is 555 billion rubles, but two versions of each government program is compiled - sufficient and financially restricted [versions]. Unfortunately, we have to look to the second version because of budget spending restrictions," Valery Gaevsky, the deputy regional development minister, said Wednesday at a joint meeting of the Council of Presidential Representation in the Siberian Federal District and the Siberian Accord Interregional Association Council.
The deputy minister said amendments to the budget plan also had to be made because of the great floods in the Far East. The regional development ministry is working on changes to the federal Housing program, which envisages moving 5 billion rubles toward rebuilding housing for flood victims in the Far East.
However, Siberia has a powerful development tool in the form of the law the Russian president signed on September 30 that amends the Tax Code to encourage regional investment projects in the Far East and in three Siberian regions - Baikal territory, Irkutsk region and Buryatia.
"The law envisages the emergence of a new category of taxpayer - regional investment project participants - and is determining tax breaks from the federal budget - a zero profit tax rate for 10 years depending on the investment amount: at least 50 million rubles for three years and at least 500 million for 5 years," Gaevsky said.
If the application of these innovations proves successful, the regional ministry plans to initiate the extension of tax breaks for regional investors throughout the country.
Currently out of 42 federal programs, 27 are being implemented. The most financially broad programs are - Russian Transport System (financing of 224 billion rubles), Ensuring Nuclear and Radiation Safety (65 billion rubles, GLONASS development (33 billion rubles) and Housing (18 billion rubles).
