
Russia’s Planned VAT Hike Expected to Push Inflation Higher, Finance Ministry Says
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Russia’s Planned VAT Hike Expected to Push Inflation Higher, Finance Ministry Says
The Finance Ministry last month proposed raising the VAT rate from 20% to 22% starting next year. The move is to help close a widening budget deficit amid record military spending. The deficit is forecast to reach 5.74 trillion rubles ($69 billion) in 2025.
“VAT may affect company financial results. Its impact on inflation is estimated at around 1%, which has been accounted for in wage and social payment indexation projections,” Siluanov told lawmakers from Russia’s upper-house Federation Council.
The Finance Ministry last month proposed raising the VAT rate from 20% to 22% starting next year to help close a widening budget deficit amid record military spending. The deficit is forecast to reach 5.74 trillion rubles ($69 billion), or 2.6% of GDP, in 2025.
Earlier, T-Investments chief economist Sofia Donets said the overall impact of the proposed VAT rate increase could be inflation of around 1.5% in the first months of next year, as companies adjust prices to maintain their margins and pass costs on to consumers in advance.