Russian ministry wants 20,000 rbl/yr levy on non-working citizens

MOSCOW, Oct 21 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Labor and Social Protection Ministry believes that a levy on non-working citizens may be set at 20,000 rubles per year, Minister Maxim Topilin told PRIME on Friday.

“We want to uncover those who have an income but do not pay anything or participate in anything. It think that 20,000 rubles is a normal sum, a small one even,” Topilin said.

Earlier this year, Deputy Minister Andrei Pudov said that the ministry was discussing reintroduction of the Soviet social parasitism tax, studying its modern version in Belarus. Topilin said earlier in October that no bill had been prepared on the issue but added that a measure of this kind could make millions of people employed in the shadow economy legalize their income.

Topilin said that the 20,000 ruble figure stems from calculations based on personal income tax and contributions to the country’s mandatory health insurance fund. The levy should be imposed only on citizens of working age, he added.

“Let’s assume that if a man works legally, then he pays personal income tax. If we calculate the tax on the basis of the living monthly wage, it will amount to 11,700 rubles per year. But if a man works in the shadow economy, then a Russian region does his payment to the mandatory health insurance fund. The average payment in regions stands at 8,000–9,000 rubles. So the levy should amount to 20,000 per year initially,” he said.

Topilin also said that it is unclear when a corresponding bill may be prepared.

End