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High taxes may "shut down" business — senior lawmaker

"Finding a balance that ensures sustainable development of the country and fulfillment of all social obligations of the state, is a key task when working on the budget," Valentina Matviyenko said
Valentina Matviyenko, Federation Council Speaker Sergei Fadeichev/TASS
Valentina Matviyenko, Federation Council Speaker
© Sergei Fadeichev/TASS

MOSCOW, September 26. /TASS/. Entrepreneurs should get more freedom and less tax burden, Valentina Matviyenko, Russian Federation Council Speaker, told Rossiyskaya Gazeta in an interview published on the newspaper’s website on Monday.

Matviyenko reminded that discussion on how to form federal and regional budgets "is underway not every day." "We are looking for optimal solutions which would allow business to develop and the state to possess means for necessary spending," she noted. It is very dangerous to give in to "radical ideas," she said adding that "one may thus kill the hen that lays eggs."

"Now, when the situation in the economy is not easy, one should not go too far, but on the contrary should give more freedom to entrepreneurs and in no way overload them with taxes. Otherwise, business in our country will just ‘shut down’," the speaker noted.

At the same time, she admitted that that budgets at different levels may have "unequal opportunities." "Many federal subjects have limited (budgets), no one is hiding that. That’s why it is necessary to allocate every ruble in a way that contributes to fulfilling the priorities set out by the president," Matviyenko said stressing that "the measures taken by the authorities should not be at the expense of people, should not be accompanied by deteriorating welfare of people."

"Finding a balance that ensures sustainable development of the country and fulfillment of all social obligations of the state, is a key task when working on the budget. This is precisely the case when we need a scalpel rather than an ax," the Federation Council speaker concluded.