Tax system should not be jolted amid crisis - Medvedev
MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax) - The flat tax rate has proven its efficiency. It would be unwise to change that amid the crisis, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with AFP and Le Figaro.
"Any citizen in our country, both very rich and of very modest means, pays the 13% income tax now. This idea is being criticized: There are oligarchs, there are rich people, let them pay more. That is fair," he said.
"At the same time, we are interested in preventing capitals, at least with the tax rate, from withdrawing into the shadows or flying abroad. I mean semi-legal settlements, which are also frequent in Europe," Medvedev said.
For instance, a substantial part of salaries are semi-legally paid "in envelopes" in Greece, he said.
"We used to have the same problem. But the absolute majority of payments became legal after we had changed the tax rate. Is that bad? So whenever we change the tax system we must think about such consequences as capital flight," the prime minister said.
This does not mean though that the Russian tax system will never change, he remarked.
"Sure, it is subject to change. We think about our tax system and its future, but the truth lies between these two poles, between Scylla and Charybdis. Anyway, I think we should not jolt the tax system in times of crisis. But this is my personal opinion," Medvedev said.
As for his opinion about plans of the French authorities to levy higher taxes on the rich, he stressed, "Naturally, this is business of the French administration and citizens of the French republic."
"In my opinion, taxes should be treated from the position of reasonable conservatism so that this structure is not weakened, especially in the midst of the crisis," he said.
