RUSSIAN MP’S CONFIRMS LAW ON INCREASING TAXES OIL COMPANIES
The State Duma voted for the law 395-12 with three abstentions.
The law increases export taxes on oil and oil products.
With current oil prices on world markets, the measure is to fetch to the federal budget five billion roubles a month.
State Duma Deputy Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin called the law a “revolutionary decision”.
The law came to the State Duma with a package of the government’s legislative initiatives aimed at reform of Russia’s tax system.
Oil export taxes will be increased depending on the pattern of fuel price on world markets.
The passed law is expected to provide additional export revenues sized 397 million dollars if oil sells in the world at the price of 22 dollars a barrel; 794 million dollars with the price 24 dollars a barrel; 1.9 billion dollars at 27 dollars a barrel; and 3.4 billion dollars if the oil price is 30 dollars a barrel.
The law simultaneously increases the tax on the oil output from the current 347 roubles to 400 roubles a tonne, which is to a bring to the federal budge one to two billion dollars depending on oil prices.
State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said the law “has a clear economic and social sense”.
Economically, it levels profitability of the oil sector with an average profitability of industries and takes away from the oil sector a conjectural, “non-working” part of profits.
In social terms, he law implements the principle, according to which all citizens should have their share of profits from the development of natural resources, Gryzlov said.
“This is one of points of our election programme,” he said, referring to the pro-government United Russia party.
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