Russia has increased its dependence on oil and gas: State Economy: Economy: Lenta.ru
The dependence of the budget on oil and gas revenues increased in three quarters of the year, they accounted for more than a third of the total revenues to the treasury – 34.5 percent, 5.3 percentage points higher than a year ago. This is stated in the operational mode of the Accounts Chamber on the implementation of the federal budget for January-September 2021, published on the website of the department.
In absolute terms, revenues from oil and gas sales reached 6,185 trillion rubles, which is 2.3 trillion more than in January-September 2020. The growth was mainly driven by an increase in mineral extraction tax (MET) and export duties on hydrocarbons. The latter was a consequence of the rise in hydrocarbon prices and the weakening of the ruble.
In addition, the regulation of tax and customs legislation as part of the continuation of the tax maneuver and additional income tax (AIT) from raw materials. The auditors recalled that from January 1, 2021, the authorities canceled a number of privileges on mineral extraction tax and export duties, and the deposits that used them switched to personal income tax.
At the same time, along with oil and gas, non-oil and gas budget revenues also increased. Their volume increased by 25.4 percent, to 11,738 trillion rubles. This was the result of an increase in revenue from value added tax (VAT), corporate income tax, recycling fee and income from the management of funds of the NWF.
The increase in the revenue side was also caused by the fine that Norilsk Nickel paid to compensate for the damage from the accident in the vicinity of Norilsk, and the transfer to the budget of a part of the Central Bank’s income from the sale of Sberbank.
In early October, the head of the Russian Audit Chamber, Alexei Kudrin, said that in the future, in 10-15 years, he should get away from dependence on oil and gas revenues. If realized, it is not ready to reduce the cost of hydrocarbons in the world.