The Finance Ministry is proposing a levy on exporters that kicks in once the ruble weakens past 80 per US dollar, four people familiar with situation said, declining to be identified as the decision isn’t final. Oil, gas, grain and some other goods would be excluded under the plan, leaving industries like metal and mining to shoulder the biggest burden.
The tax is expected to generate about $1 billion per month at the current exchange rate, said one of the people, who is close to the government.Read more: Russia, Oil Companies Wrangle Over Fuel Costs as War Drags On Should the proposal pass, the scale would be progressive, with exporters paying as much as 4% on revenue when the ruble is weaker than 80 per dollar and 7% when it depreciates past 95 per dollar, people said.The ruble’s August fall triggered a spat between the government and the central bank over whether to introduce capital controls.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the government required mandatory foreign exchange sales by exporters, and those companies think the new tax could be a milder form capital control for now, people said.