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Russian government to consider finance minister’s tax proposals for 2017-2019

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, September 28. /TASS/. Russia’s government will consider the Finance Ministry’s proposals on the tax policy directions for 2017-2019 on October 13, Deputy Finance Minister Ilya Trunin said Wednesday.

"The consideration (by the government - TASS) is planned for October 13. (The document) will be submitted before this date," he said.

According to Trunin, the proposals cover the ways to keep the debt burden on oil and gas production as well as income tax allocation and adjustment of excise duty rates.

Also, he said, the document has no proposals on excise duties on sugary drinks.

Earlier Trunin said that the government might consider the main directions of tax policy for the next three years in September.

Tax policy for oil sector 

Russia’s finance ministry is not ruling out that a new tax system for the oil sector could be introduced already next year, Deputy Finance Minister assumed. 

"This could be in 2017, the text (of draft law) has been almost written," Trunin said, adding that there is no need to wait for a convenient date of introducing the new law as many market participants believe.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak earlier said that his ministry had almost reached a compromise with the finance ministry on the proposed tax system for the oil sector. First Deputy Energy Minister Alexei Teksler said the ministry had agreed on the key approaches to this new tax system.

The ministries could not agree on the tax reform of the oil sector for a long time. The reform envisages shifting from fixed oil and gas production tax that depends on the output to a flexible system, namely tax on additional income (50%).