The State Duma of the Russian Federation has adopted in the first reading a draft law on the introduction of a tax on excess profits. The document, titled "On the Tax on Excess Profits," was developed by the Government of the Russian Federation.
According to the explanatory note, this document is designed to create additional revenue for the federal budget. The proposed tax will be one-time.
"The tax base for this tax will be determined as the difference between the average profit for 2021 and 2022 and the average profit for 2018 and 2019, with a tax rate of 10%," the draft law states.
The excess profit tax will be directed exclusively to the federal budget. Several categories of organizations will be exempt from the obligation to pay the excess profit tax. The tax will not apply to companies created after 2020, as well as firms with an average annual profit for the period of 2021-2022 not exceeding 1 billion rubles. Small and medium-sized enterprises, organizations paying a unified agricultural tax, companies in the oil and gas sector, and coal mining will be exempt from paying this tax.
Businesses will be required to pay the tax by January 28, 2024. However, if the contribution to the budget is made between October 1 and November 30, 2023, the tax amount may be reduced by half, to 5%. This discount is planned to be implemented through a tax deduction.
Earlier, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation explained the reasons for introducing the excess profit tax. The introduction of the new tax is due to two factors: companies have received significant additional income as a result of the current market conditions, and a significant budget deficit has formed. Deputy Head of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, Alexei Sazanov, emphasized that the possibility of introducing such a tax in the future is not ruled out. According to him, this may happen in the presence of excess profits and the need to finance a large deficit.
The funds collected will be directed to the development of the social sphere and support for families with children. The initiative to introduce the excess profit tax was put forward by Russian entrepreneurs.
