Tax Not Dependent on Dollar Rate
The tax on mineral wealth production has risen on oil from 1391 rubles per ton in January 2005 to 2652 rubles per ton in September 2007. All the while, the rate in the Tax Code has remained 419 rubles per ton. This unusual situation is due to 2001 legislation that requires monthly calculation of the tax, which is known by the Russian abbreviation NDPI, in which it is multiplied by two factors: the price of Urals oil on the Mediterranean and Rotterdam markets and the monthly average exchange rate of the dollar to the ruble.
The price of oil has a much greater influence on the tax rate than the exchange rate of the dollar, which has been practically unnoticed in tax calculations even as it has fallen from 27.94 rubles in January 2005 to 25.34 rubles in September 2007. That is because the price of oil is more volatile than the dollar's exchange. Between January and April of this year, for instance, the price of oil increased by 28 percent, while the value of the dollar in rubles decreased by just 2.4 percent.
In spite of experts' concerns about the negative effect of the weakening of the dollar on the Russian budget, the Finance Ministry does not intend to alter the way the NDPI is calculated. The current method was originally temporary. It was first in force through 2006, then it was extended to 2011. Then it was made permanent.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 09, 2007
|
