The Russian economy is not ready for a substantial reduction in the tax burden and any tax cut proposals should be linked with cuts in government expenditures, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday.
“Any state is interested in reducing the tax level but, on the other hand, we have obligations that we must finance, social and infrastructural obligations that need to be fulfilled. That is why we consider it premature to discuss substantially reducing the level of tax exemptions,” Siluanov told a parliamentary hearing.
The overall tax burden on the Russian economy amounted to 35.6 percent in 2011. Excluding revenues from oil and gas exports, the figure was 25.5 percent, Siluanov said.
“This is quite a competitive level,” he said, adding it was “inexpedient to discuss cardinal cuts in the tax burden without expenditure cuts.”