State Duma deputies, who still remember about the president’s order to double the GDP, don’t like the government’s intention to reduce the economic growth in 2007.
Photo: Dmitry Dukhanin
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State Duma Doesn’t Stake on VAT Collection Growth
Russia’s State Duma proceeded to the 2007 draft budget yesterday. The macroeconomic forecast made out by Economic Development Ministry and used as the guidelines for the bill isn’t accurate, the deputies reasoned. As to Finance Ministry, it was lambasted for the plans to step up collection of VAT in 2007.
As Duma’s Speaker Boris Gryzlov vowed to pass the draft budget in four readings a fortnight ahead of schedule (i.e. last week of November), the deputies focused on it straight after the summer recess.
On Wednesday, the budget committee of the State Duma studied the macroeconomic outlook of the Economic Development Ministry and the revenue portion of the state treasury. Still mindful of president’s order to double GDP, the deputies didn’t like the government’s intention to curtail economic growth to 6 percent in 2007 vs. 6.6 percent this year.
The decline will happen, explained Gennady Kuranov from Economic Development Ministry, as the crude oil is forecasted to become cheaper in 2007, the import product will further press up the product of domestic make and the government will have no internal sources of growth to make up for them.
But the deputies doubted accuracy of the economic forecast, emphasizing this lack of accuracy hinders the economy. The outlook made out for this year, for instance, could be hardly called very precise – the crude oil costs $65 a bbl instead of the forecasted $40, GDP will reach 27 trillion rubles (24 trillion rubles) and the import is expected to climb to $160 billion ($139 billion).
The poor quality of the outlook doesn’t allow shaping the budget revenues correctly, said Nadezhda Maksimova, deputy chairman of the budget committee. “We ourselves prevent economy from developing,” the deputy concluded.
Another aim of the deputies' attack was Finance Ministry, which was accused of the arrogant extension of VAT collection by 420 billion rubles in 2007 (1.378 trillion rubles vs. 958 billion rubles in 2006).
Introduction of shipment settlement of VAT in 2006 has impaired the collection and this year’s target won't be reached. Moreover, in 2007, it is planned to shift to declarative procedures of VAT refund to exporters, which will trim the collection by 140 billion rubles in addition. “Evidently, in this environment, increasing collection by 420 billion rubles could be attained only if the tax isn’t refunded at all,” the deputies said.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 07, 2006
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