Russia’s ministry sees 1.4 tln rbl dividends for 2017–2019 budget

MOSCOW, Oct 27 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Finance Ministry has included a ruling for state companies to pay at least 50% of their net profit in dividends to the budget in 2017–2019, and expects a payment of 1.37 trillion rubles in the period, Yelena Lebedinskaya, director of the ministry’s income department, told PRIME on Thursday.

“We have included the regulation for all companies, and the budget takes it into account. So, we have an about 480 billion ruble dividend income in 2017, 460 billion rubles in 2018 and 430 billion rubles in 2019. The sums are large, and they are larger than were forecasted before the ruling to pay 50% of net profit in dividends was applied to all companies,” she said.

The increase of excises on oil products will add 140 billion rubles to state coffers in 2017. The ministry cut the possible increase of excises on diesel fuel, but the general level of excises on motor fuels will still not grow significantly on the year, she said.

“Initially, we were to cut them next year, and it was set in the Tax Code. When people talk now about higher excises, it is not an increase compared with the current year, but a decrease of the rate which was to be implemented. The excise on gasoline will remain flat, while the excise on diesel fuel will grow insignificantly,” she said.

The ministry also expects additional incomes from a higher mineral extraction tax (MET) on natural gas at 170 billion rubles in 2017 and 125–130 billion rubles in 2018–2019. “We have adjusted some things inside the revenues, like changes in what we supposed to do with the gas MET. We envisaged additional taxes for next three years, but we’ve decided that the burden will be too much to handle and made it smoother,” she said.

Additional budget revenues from the MET on oil remained at previously expected levels of 140 billion rubles, 175 billion rubles, and 210 billion rubles in the three years, Lebedinskaya said.

Russia’s budget still largely depends on oil prices, but the dependency is decreasing, she said. A 2009 shortfall in oil prices led to the energy income of the budget falling 30%, and the non-energy income contracted 10%. In 2015–2016, the energy income of the budget fell due to low oil prices, but the non-oil and gas income increased slightly.

“In this regard, our dependency is obviously falling. We have accustomed to the shock,” she said.

But the impact of the oil price falling by $1 U.S. dollar right now is more significant than it could have been if the oil prices were about $100 per barrel. “Today it is very important for us to plan in a conservative way, as the budget’s reserves and sovereign funds are contracting sharply, and we have no right for a mistake,” she said.

The ministry is to submit the 2017–2019 budget draft to the government later this week.

(62.2597 rubles – U.S. $1)

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