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No reasons to collect extra revenues of companies, says Russia's economy minister

The implementation of the initiative on taking out additional revenues from metal and chemical companies in Russia may affect their profitability, Fitch rating agency said earlier

MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. The government has not provided for collection of extra revenues of companies in fiscal policy changes and no reasons are in place to apply this measure, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin told reporters on Wednesday.

"The government has announced fiscal policy guidelines in early summer already. This decision was made by the government. Such measures were not provided there and I do not see reasons why the government should suddenly change its point of view," the minister said.

Minister of Industry Denis Manturov said earlier on Wednesday that the government worked out a consolidated position on the proposal to collect windfall incomes form companies and agreed that such a decision is not reasonable.

The idea to withdraw 513.7 bln rubles ($7.6 bln) from the metallurgical and chemical companies from their additional revenues was previously proposed by Andrey Belousov in a letter to Vladimir Putin. According to Belousov, the money can be spent on the implementation of the May presidential decree.

The list of companies include NLMK, Severstal, Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, Mechel, Metalloinvest, Evraz, Norilsk Nickel, Alrosa, Polyus, Sibur, Uralkali, Phosagro and others.

According to the estimates of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the capitalization of the Russian stock market as a result of these measures may fall by 3 trillion rubles ($44.2 bln). The organization also warned that Belousov's initiative would negatively affect the country's investment attractiveness.

The implementation of the initiative on taking out additional revenues from metal and chemical companies in Russia may affect their profitability, Fitch rating agency said earlier.