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Spec. Ec. Zones Ease Oil Dependency
The Lipetsk Special Economic Zone has been opened. Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov stated after the opening ceremony that “We often speak about the oil needle' [a reference to Russia's “addiction to oil], and the Lipetsk Zone says that we have gone from words to actions in solving that problem.” He noted that, in addition to the federal special economic zone in Lipetsk Region, there are three similar regional zones.
Approximately 1 billion rubles in private investment have gone into the Lipetsk zones and heavy industry, the food industry and pharmaceuticals. The last industry is especially important, Ivanov noted, since “things are far from brilliant” in that industry in Russia.
There are a total of six federal special economic zones in Russia with over 50 residents. Four of them are technical zones – in St. Petersburg, Zelenograd, Dubna (Moscow Region) and Tomsk. The others, in Lipetsk and Elabuga, are industrial zones. There are also seven tourism and recreational zones in Russia.
A total of 5.3 billion rubles of federal and regional money will be invested in the Lipetsk federal special economic zone. It has five residents so far, and another four are awaiting registration. By 2010, 14.8 billion rubles are expected to be invested there, and more than 3000 jobs created. More than a billion rubles per year in tax revenue will be generated.
Since January 1, 2006, tax benefits applicable in special economic zones have included exemption from land, property and transportation taxes and reduction of the profits tax by 4 percent to 20 percent. Materials and equipment imported into the zones are subject to duties. Residents of the technical zones also pay a reduced unified social tax – 14 percent in place of 26 percent.
www.kommersant.com
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