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Russia to make decision on bank tax after consultations, monitoring – Siluanov

He admitted heated debates and said no consensus had been reached

CANNES, November 4 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia does not support the idea of taxing inter-bank operations so far; it needs to make an analysis first, Acting Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday.

“This tax would have undesirable consequences for us. We have a rather low level of non-cash settlements, and the tax would promote an even broader use of cash,” he told Itar-Tass. “If a limited number of countries impose this tax, companies will be eager to get registered in the states, which do not levy it,” he said.

Russia will monitor negotiations between other countries and make its decision depending on their outcome, he said.

He admitted heated debates and said no consensus had been reached.

Russia does not plan to tax banking operations as yet, Russian Presidential Aide Arkady Dvorkovich replied to an Itar-Tass question earlier in the day.

“There is no unity in the G20 concerning the bank tax. Some countries disagree with the idea, and some, primarily in Latin America and Europe, side with it,” he said.

“Our position is simple – we believe that this tax is not useful from the point of view of the Russian economy and finance, especially as we aim at the formation of an international financial center in Moscow ,” he said.

“However, Russia is ready to consider the option in the case of the G20 consensus. We are far from consensus so far,” he said.