Putin tells Fin Min not to hurry with adding non-tax payments to code

MOSCOW, Mar 14 (PRIME) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Finance Ministry on Thursday to not hurry with adding non-tax payments to the Tax Code.

“We used to talk much that it is the same for the businessmen how to pay, it is important that they pay while non-tax payments are becoming insurmountable,” Putin told a meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

“We need to bear in mind the entire fiscal burden picture. This is why the Finance Ministry has proposed to include the environment protection fees and pack them into the Tax Code. I see that it is fraught with consequences, and asking (Finance Minister) Anton Germanovich (Siluanov) not to hurry with this. Besides, it is not a bill yet, just an idea of the Finance Ministry and nothing has been formulated,” Putin said.

The Ministry earlier said Russia could include six nontax payments into the Tax Code to raise business regulation transparency. The Russian authorities earlier promised not to raise the tax burden on companies but non-tax payments continued to grow.

Putin said that it is essential to ensure unchanged rules for investors and to reduce the risks. “We see a desire by the leading Russian companies to invest in development programs in the country, to participate in the fulfillment of the national targets actively and substantially,” he said.

“That is why I think it is crucial to ensure stability of the rules of their fulfillment, to form clear measures which will help reduce investor risks. We need to set all these stipulations in a law protecting and rewarding capital investment.”

The authorities will take into consideration the opinion of the business when working on a bill of investment protection, Putin said.

An information platform for entrepreneurs to talk about the cases of pressure on them and attempts to take their property away will be created.

Russia needs additional decisions on special investment contracts in order to raise the efficiency of the measure, the president said.

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