MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. The increase in value-added tax (VAT) in Russia will not be permanent, President Vladimir Putin said, adding that taxes should be reduced in the future.

"I understood your hint about whether this will last forever. Of course not. The ultimate goal is to reduce the tax burden in the future," he said during the combined Direct Line Q&A session and year-end press conference headlined Results of the Year, speaking about the VAT increase from 20% to 22%.

The government assumes that it will lead matters precisely to this, Putin noted. "I am also counting on this," he said.