Anton Siluanov's department proposed the final structure of a fair system of state fees to the government
The Russian Ministry of Finance has published the parameters of the upcoming changes in tax rates. This is evidenced by the bill submitted to the government, which provides for a multi-stage scale of personal income tax, changes in the profit tax, additional assistance to families with children and other innovations. What goals does the government want to achieve and how will changes in the tax system affect the wallets of Russians — in the material «MK».
Photo: duma.gov.ru
At the end of February, President Vladimir Putin, in his address to the Federal Assembly, called on the government to create “a fairer system for distributing the tax burden.” The head of state indicated that the tax system should ensure the flow of resources to solve national problems; it is designed to reduce inequality both in society and in the socio-economic development of regions.
The Ministry of Finance, which immediately began work on modernizing the tax system, presented to the government on May 28 its final vision of innovations in the fiscal system. There are two main changes — strengthening the progressive scale of personal income tax, which most Russians, however, will not affect, and an increase in income tax from 20% to 25%. The authorities want to adopt new changes during the spring session of the State Duma, that is, before August 5. And the new tax rules will begin to operate in 2025 and, on the instructions of the president, should be “fixed” for the next five years, that is, until 2030.
Currently, Russia has a two-stage personal income tax system. Citizens with an annual income of up to 5 million rubles a year pay 13%, and those who earn more pay 15%. After the adoption of the Ministry of Finance’s innovations, the scale will change from a two-stage to a multi-stage. Russians receiving up to 2.4 million rubles per year (that is, having a salary of less than 200 thousand rubles per month) will continue to contribute 13% to the budget. Those who receive from 2.4 million to 5 million rubles will pay a tax of 15%. Russians receiving an annual income from 5 million to 20 million rubles will pay 18% to the budget, from 20 million to 50 million rubles — 20%. And those few whose annual income exceeds 50 million rubles will pay personal income tax at 22%.
With such a gradation, it is clear that the vast majority of compatriots will not be affected by such tax changes. Let us recall that, according to Rosstat, the average monthly nominal salary in February in our country was just over 78 thousand rubles. “The budget will be replenished, especially through taxation of employees of the public sector and public companies,” says BitRiver Communications Director and economist Andrei Loboda. However, overall, the changes will affect only 3.2% of all workers. As the head of the Ministry of Finance Anton Siluanov pointed out, out of 64 million working Russians, only 2.4 million compatriots receive an income of more than 200 thousand rubles per month.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance will not change the tax scale for participants in the special operation: for them the rates will remain the same. And for families with two or more children, whose income per family member does not exceed 1.5 times the subsistence level per month, the new tax innovations provide for the return of personal income tax paid at the end of the year. The payment can be provided to parents with a monthly income of up to 53 thousand rubles if both adults in the family work, or up to 106 thousand rubles if one person works. Such families will receive 7% of 13%, that is, as noted by the Ministry of Finance, the actual personal income tax rate for such Russians will be 6%, and about half of families with two or more children will be able to receive a deduction. At the same time, “cashback” for personal income tax for families with children may exceed 319 thousand rubles already in 2025.
“The proposal to introduce a progressive scale of income tax on income over 2.4 million per year, with rough calculations, will allow the Russian Ministry of Finance to accumulate about 1.03 trillion rubles in additional income from wages alone to the treasury,” says Alexander Safonov, a professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. “Taking into account the fact that the federal budget deficit in 2023 amounted to about 3.241 trillion rubles, additional revenues will reduce the state treasury deficit by a third, and by receiving additional income taxes, completely balance the budget in 2025.”
Thus, the cumulative effect of tax changes could reach 3 trillion rubles in 2025. A budget surplus allows the government to spend more on the national goals stated by the president. Let us recall that in accordance with the law on the federal budget for 2024 and the planned years 2025-2026, in 2025 the revenues of the Russian state treasury were planned in the amount of 27.98 trillion rubles, and expenses — 29.24 trillion rubles. Additional income of 3 trillion rubles can increase expenses by 3 trillion or up to 32 trillion rubles, Safonov emphasized. At the same time, the Ministry of Finance itself emphasized that they intend to spend the additional fees received specifically on social expenses, including the extension of the maternity capital program, increasing social benefits and pensions.
Another important innovation proposed by the Ministry of Finance was the change in the profit tax from 20% to 25%. Before this, speaking at various events, Anton Siluanov called the current rate in Russia one of the lowest among countries with developed economies. For example, in Argentina, China, the Netherlands and Iran, the corresponding tax has long reached 25%, in Australia it is 30%, in Canada — 38% and the list goes on. According to Anton Siluanov's department, the financial result of Russian companies in 2023 increased by 35.2% compared to the previous year and reached 33.3 trillion rubles. At the same time, it was possible to fully compensate for the losses of 2022, which was difficult for everyone. Let us recall that the profit of the banking sector alone, which operated under serious pressure from sanctions, last year became a record and reached 3.3 trillion rubles. Noting this, the head of the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets, Anatoly Artamonov, pointed out that the volume of profits of domestic banks practically coincided with the Russian budget spending on education and healthcare.
The proceeds from the increase in the profit tax rate are planned to be used to help businesses, to launch technological and infrastructure projects. At the same time, support measures have been developed for those involved in investments: it is planned to extend the tax deduction on an indefinite basis, introduce a federal investment deduction (its details will be determined by the government), and also increase support for companies engaged in the modernization of funds, replacing old equipment with more high-tech. In addition, in various preferential regimes, including those located in the regions — in the Territories of Advanced Development (TOR), in Special Economic Zones (SEZ), where the agreement on the protection and promotion of capital investments (SZPK) and special investment contracts (SPIC) are in effect — nothing will change for entrepreneurs.
According to leading analyst of Freedom Finance Global Natalia Milchakova, if in the future the state treasury expenses do not increase at an abnormally sharp rate, then by 2026 the Russian budget may become deficit-free. This may ease the inflationary pressure on the Russian economy, which will be beneficial for the whole country, although such an effect will not be seen any time soon. At the same time, according to Professor Safonov, the increase in budget opportunities in the future will allow to increase state expenses, the government will be able to support new infrastructure projects and thus maintain positive dynamics of GDP.
The highest income taxes in the world are paid by residents of Côte d'Ivoire — in this African country the rate reaches 60%. The following places in terms of tax burden are occupied by Austria, Finland, Sweden and Japan — there it is about 55% with certain nuances in each state. If the new progression scale proposed by the Ministry of Finance is adopted, Russia will become 104th in terms of tax “ceiling”. These are the results of RIA Novosti’s analysis of data from national tax services and PwC. The authors of the study examined the tax systems of 143 of the world’s largest countries as of May 1, 2024. 116 countries have a progressive tax scale: in 15 countries, including Russia, there are currently only two “steps” in progression, while in the remaining 101 there are three or more.