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Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Russian officials: Subsoil tax hike unrelated to falling oil prices

Russia's decision to raise the sub-soil tax and cut export duties is unrelated to falling oil prices globally, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov said Wednesday.

Shatalov said the tax hike was in the works 18 months ago, when the per-barrel price was above $100. He said the measure will not result in any losses to  regional budgets.

“This is a whole set of decisions involving not only a rise in the mineral-extraction tax, but also a fall in export duties. From the viewpoint of the oil industry, these are netting decisions that won’t have any significant effect on profits,” Shatalov said.

Vitaly Shuba, deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee for the Budget and Financial Markets, said the proposed tax maneuvers aim to create conditions for minimum losses in budgets and profits.

The plan involves staged reduction in export duties on oil and other petroleum products over a period of three years.