The entire middle class falls under the progressive scale
The upcoming introduction of a progressive tax scale is finally beginning to acquire details. But they are unlikely to please many Russians who earn their living by honest work. An increased tax of 15% will probably be imposed on those who have one or more million rubles a year. That is, they receive 83.3 thousand per month.
This figure is close to the average nominal salary in Russia in 2023. Let us recall that now 15% is charged to those Russians who earn more than 5 million a year.
State Duma deputy Anatoly Aksakov reported on some details of the progressive scale being discussed in parliament. Emphasizing that the numbers are still provisional.
They would, perhaps, be in the realm of assumptions or fortune-telling if Anatoly Aksakov himself had not headed the financial market committee in the State Duma. His words are worth listening to.
It is possible that another bar will appear on the scale: 17%. Such a tax will have to be paid to the treasury by those who earn from 3 million per year, respectively 250 thousand rubles per month.
Well, and everyone who has an annual income of 5 million or more (416.6 thousand per month) will pay 20%.
It should be noted that the increased tax is not levied every month, but only on the amount that exceeds this threshold. For example, if a person earned 1.2 million rubles in a year, then on one million he pays the usual income tax of 13%. But for the “extra” 200 thousand — already 15%, just two percent more.
It is believed that this very slight increase (2%) should not affect the material well-being of the citizen.
It is clear that in order to fulfill the tasks that the president set in his message, the government needs money. And it is desirable that as many Russians as possible fall under the increased tax. After all, there are not so many of those who earn 5-10 million rubles a year. Even at a 20 percent rate, treasury revenues will not increase much.
And if the bar is raised for the middle class, for millions of taxpayers, then money will flow like a river. It is not only bankers or oil workers who receive high salaries by today's standards. Those who sail on fishing trawlers earn more than 97 thousand rubles a month — their work is not easy. There are other industries with approximately the same salary.
However, 15% have already been successfully tested. Today they are paid by those who earn over 5 million rubles a year. And, judging by official reports, they are not trying to run away or hide money.
So, by analogy, they can pay from a million rubles…
“Almost the entire middle class falls into 15%,” says Nikita Maslennikov, leading expert at the Center for Political Technologies. – It turns out that he has to work, and those whom we call the poor win. However, in this category of the population there are many people who simply do not want to work.
There are risks that with a 15 percent limit per million in Russia, “gray schemes” and payments in envelopes will again begin to flourish. Still, such a rate is very significant for a person living on one salary.
— It would probably be fairer to charge 15% on a salary of 3 million rubles or more. And up to this amount leave 13%. In general, it’s a counting question; according to some estimates, today 15% pays a little more than one percent of the country’s population.
Such information is used to measure the reaction of public opinion. But the reaction is already restrained — that's putting it mildly. It is more negative.
If you raise taxes, I would like to receive “colored” money in order to understand where exactly it is going, for what national projects. In addition, with a progressive scale, income inequality in regional budgets may increase. This is also a question that requires careful study.