The head of the RSPP considers the idea of ​​a voluntary contribution of big business to the budget unrealizable

Head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin RBCthat the companies discussed with the Cabinet of Ministers the idea of ​​a voluntary contribution to the Russian budget for almost two months and came to the conclusion that it was unfeasible. As an alternative to a voluntary contribution, Mr. Shokhin proposed, in particular, to increase income tax by 0.5 percentage points. or issue a new type of government bond tied to a budget deficit situation.

“It will be very difficult to implement the idea of ​​a voluntary contribution. The companies are different both in terms of business margins in 2022 and 2023 and in terms of the situation with taxes paid (for example, in some industries, additional tax exemptions are provided for in 2023 in the form of increased MET rates). Moreover, different situations with investments, including social ones, in the territories of presence. If we measure all these parameters, we will go into manual mode for a long time,” said the head of the RSPP.

In addition, according to Mr. Shokhin, the funds earned by companies in 2022 by the time the contribution is introduced will already be distributed in accordance with previously adopted corporate decisions. In some companies, corporate procedures cannot be bypassed even by majority shareholders, he noted. Mr. Shokhin added that the favorable situation, on the basis of which the government raises the issue of a voluntary contribution, ended in 2023 for many industries, so some companies will not be able to count on free funds for the contribution.

The head of the RSPP said that in 2022 the Ministry of Finance had already attracted funds to the budget, taking advantage of the favorable market conditions. “In 2022, a number of measures were taken that led to unplanned additional income relative to the previously adopted budget. We are talking about a mechanism for recalculating exchange rate differences for tax purposes (a corresponding letter was sent by the Ministry of Finance on December 22), which differs from the procedure introduced by the anti-crisis law in the spring,” Mr. Shokhin specified.

He offered the Ministry of Finance several alternatives to a voluntary contribution. Among them is the issue of OFZ, the service of which depends on the level of the budget deficit; stimulating investment in social and business-oriented projects; the creation of a venture fund in which private companies and the state will invest according to the 50/50 formula and which will be managed by big business. The most balanced and simple solution to the problem of the budget deficit is to increase the income tax, Mr. Shokhin believes. “According to our calculation, an additional 0.5 p.p. to the federal part of the income tax would be sufficient to reach the level of additional income that the government expects to receive in the form of a voluntary contribution from business,” said the head of the RSPP.

Today, February 8, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov declaredthat the Russian government is discussing with large domestic companies a one-time voluntary contribution to the budget from income for 2022. A RBC source familiar with the course of the consultations said that the base contribution is 200 billion rubles. Ministry of Finance did not support RSPP proposal to increase income tax. There are no plans to change the basic parameters of the Russian tax system in 2023, the ministry said.

Erdni Kagaltynov