PRESS: Russian govt mulls zero oil export duty, MET tax increase

MOSCOW, Mar 23 (PRIME) -- The Russian Energy Ministry will discuss on Wednesday setting zero duties for oil exports but raising the rate of the mineral extraction tax (MET) in order to earn more money for state coffers, business daily Vedomosti reported citing sources invited to the meeting.

The export duty’s chargeable base is about 200 million tonnes, while the MET taxable base stands at 450 million tonnes, one of the sources said.

The duty can start to shrink in 2017, two sources said.

The ministry is also thinking about starting to charge an excise tax on crude in order to offset the effect of an earlier excise tax increase on refineries. Oil refineries will be able to receive tax deductions, Vedomosti reported.

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