PRIME-TASS. Russian authorities could decide to slightly cut direct taxes and replace them with indirect as part of the so-called ‘tax maneuver’, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told journalists at a briefing held at the Gaidar Forum.
“The option of slightly lowering direct taxes and replacing them with indirect ones could be considered," Siluanov said.
In December 2011 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a Delovaya Rossiya congress that the country needs a decisive ‘tax maneuver’, it’s necessary to think about optimization of those taxes, on which the quality of economic growth depends. The prime minister ordered the Ministry for Economic Development and the Finance Ministry of Russia to work out proposals as to readjust the tax system for Russia’s industrial development.
According to Siluanov, “the tax maneuver issue is creative”. There are several opinions and various proposals on how the tax system should be improved.
“The firm stable tax system should be provided, and serious changes in the tax field do not always improve the tax climate and the investment appeal," he said.
Therefore, according to Siluanov, there could be changes, but, generally, the overall level of the tax burden should not undergo changes.
In addition, according to him, an issue could be reviewed to alter insurance contributions depending on how the pension system goes through reforms.
