Minister says govt discusses no levy on non-working Russians

MOSCOW, Nov 8 (PRIME) -- The government is not discussing a tax on all non-working Russians, but only on those who avoid collections on social infrastructure, Labor and Social Protection Minister Maxim Topilin said on Tuesday at a meeting with a committee of the State Duma, the parliament’s lower house.

Earlier this year, Deputy Minister Andrei Pudov said that the ministry was discussing reintroduction of the Soviet social parasitism tax, and studies its modern version in Belarus. Topilin said in October that a levy on non-working Russians may be set at 20,000 rubles per year, and the ministry wants to uncover those who have an income but do not pay social payments.

“We are not saying that it is a tax with a name, we are saying that there is a problem that covers unfair attitude to people who work and pay a personal income tax legally and for whom insurance payments are paid legally,” Topilin said.

“Someone pays that, but someone think that there is no need in that and who can give everyone the finger but go to kindergartens and schools for free and use different services.”

(63.9074 rubles – U.S. $1)

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