Kremlin Says Not Yet Formed Stance On Proposal To Remove Excess Profits From Mining Firms

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2018) The Kremlin has not established its position on the initiative of Russian presidential aide Andrei Belousov to withdraw excess profits from mining and chemical companies, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

Peskov confirmed on Friday that Belousov, in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, proposed that budget revenues from the mining and chemical sectors' excess profits should be increased because these companies paid lower taxes than oil and gas enterprises. The aide proposed to make the companies pay more than 500 billion rubles (some $7.5 billion) for 2017. Peskov said the Putin had ordered the government to explore the issue.

"You know that it [the profit withdrawal idea] is an expert opinion, a point of view voiced by the presidential aide, and you know that the president agreed that this initiative could and must be worked on by the government in cooperation with market actors.

The president is treating these issues very carefully and calls for a thorough assessment of all possible consequences, the possible effect on the market and [the industry] before making any decision � No position [on the issue] has been fixed or formulated yet," Peskov told reporters.

The spokesman also refuted rumors about the authorities' alleged intention to introduce progressive taxation in the country.

"No, that is not true," Peskov said answering a question about the veracity of the rumors.

On Sunday, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that, when drafting a report on the Belousov proposal, the government would take into account the companies' arguments and study possible consequences for the investment climate. He stressed that no decisions were being drafted on tax increases for these sectors.