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Tax burden in Russia tops 36% of GDP — finance minister

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MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. Tax burden in Russia tops 36% of GDP, the Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a presentation of the Main tax policy directions for 2016-2018 in Russia’s State Duma (lower house) on Tuesday.

"Tax burden in Russia is slightly higher than in the BRICS countries and some EAEU states though lower than in the European Union. Russia’s tax burden now tops around 36% of GDP," the Minister said.

It’s hardly possible to say whether Russia’s fiscal system is less competitive, Siluanov added. "The question of a lower tax burden is the question of a choice by the community between the expenditures volume we can afford and the tax burden volumes we define keeping in mind those obligations," he said.

Thus, according to Siluanov, social expenditures, including medical care, exceeds 16% of GDP in Russia while in Kazakhstan and the BRICS countries they equal to about 10% of GDP. Defense expenditures in Russia top 4% of GDP while in China they stand at around 2% of GDP and 1% of GDP in Kazakhstan.

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