Russia gearing to impose export tax on metal producers, including aluminium with $2.3 billion in Aug-Dec

On 24th Jun2 2921, the officials of the largest country in the world, Russia said that the government is gearing to impose new export taxes for aluminium, steel products, nickel and copper which will cost their producers $2.3 billion between 1st August and 31st.

Russia wants to safeguard its defence and construction industries from a further rise in raw materials costs as prices for metals has boomed at a global high level.

Andrei Belousov, First Deputy Prime Minister, said: “Our economy is not ready for the kind of avalanche-like shock transfer of global prices to the domestic market that we have seen over the past year.”

“The increase in domestic prices for certain metals ranged from 60% to 100%.”

Maxim Reshetnikov, Economy Minister said: “Moscow will use the August to December period, while the extra taxes are in place, to prepare a permanent mechanism to accumulate part of the profits from these super favourable market conditions.”

Belousov said: “Taxing ferrous metals such as steel will bring in 114 billion roubles ($1.6 billion), and base metals such as nickel and aluminium 50 billion roubles, adding that represents 20%-25% of the excessive income firms will get from a favourable market.”

The Deputy Prime Minister believed that the Russian metals export volume would remain unchanged by imposing the tax.

The expected tax take is above Belousov’s previous estimate. In May, he said that Russian metal producers could encounter a demand to pay 100 billion roubles in additional tax to the government for what he termed ‘screwing the state’.