MOSCOW: The Russian budget will get a boost of at least 1 trillion roubles ($16 billion) from changes to taxation in oil production and refining in the next six years, two government officials said on Thursday.They told a news brieing at the energy ministry that the government hopes to get as much as 1.3 trillion roubles in additional reveneus from the tax changes. That would help state coffers at a time when the energy ministry says it expects oil refining volumes to decrease in Russia by 15-17 million tonnes starting from 2021-2022.
Russia has been tweaking its oil taxation in a move, known as the tax manoeuvre, by raising mineral extraction tax and gradually reducing exporting duty for selling oil and oil products abroad.
Alexey Sazanov, the head of the tax department in the finance ministry, said even if the price of oil averages $40 per barrel, the budget will get an extra 1 trillion roubles in 2019 -2024.
The finance ministry sees budget revenues at 17.1 trillion roubles in 2018, rising to 19.9 trillion in 2019.
The lower house of the Russian parliament on Wednesday approved changes to the Tax Code in relation to the tax manoeuvre. The changes also foresee so-called negative excise tax for some refineries which have been modernising.