25.09.08

“The ‘victory’ of the VAT not surprising, since it really is a tax that takes away significant turnover funds,” commented Grant Thornton partner Alexander Sidorenko. He added that the complicated and expensive calculation of the tax is a supplemental factor in the reaction to it.

The pollster conducted analogical surveys in 33 countries, and the results obtained in Russia can be compared to those obtained abroad. On average, business owners consider profits tax and social taxes the most burdensome (24 percent of respondents) and income tax ranks third. Indirect taxation, such as VAT, ranks fourth worldwide, with 12 percent of respondents objecting to it. The Russian Finance Ministry has used similar international statistics to defend its refusal to lower the VAT from 18 to 12 percent.

Read More about Accounting Services from Alinga Consulting Group

Source: www.kommersant.com