The government of the aggressor country of russia is preparing to increase the value-added tax (VAT) rate. Earlier, russian dictator vladimir putin promised russians that taxes would not be increased.
This was reported by Reuters, citing its own sources.
Four unnamed sources told Reuters that the VAT increase is necessary to curb the russian budget deficit caused by colossal war spending. In addition, the russian leadership sees the VAT increase as an opportunity to preserve reserves.
"How can the deficit be reduced while adhering to the budget rule? Only by raising taxes, because there is almost nothing left to cut, neither military spending nor social spending," the agency quotes one of the sources as saying.
According to the agency's sources, the draft budget for 2026 will be presented to the State Duma of the russian federation at the end of September. Its main components were agreed upon in advance with putin and are unlikely to be significantly changed.
Reuters calculated that VAT accounted for 37% of federal budget revenues in 2024. Its increase could help halve the projected deficit.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on September 11, the russian publication The Bell wrote, citing its own sources, that the russian authorities are preparing to raise the VAT rate from 20% to 22%.
Recall that in July of this year, the russian State Duma proposed nationalizing the assets of oligarchs to fill the budget.
We also wrote that in 2026, russia could completely exhaust the liquid assets of the National Welfare Fund, where revenues from the sale of oil and gas have been accumulating for years.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.