MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian authorities are discussing increasing the one-time contribution foreign companies leaving the country must make to the state budget to 40 percent from 15 percent, the RBC daily reported on Friday, citing four sources.
Russia has steadily tightened exit requirements for foreign companies since Western sanctions were imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, demanding steep discounts on any deal before it is approved and taking a cut of the sale price to shore up state coffers, in what Washington has dubbed an “exit tax.”
Budget contributions from foreign companies’ exits amounted to about 140 billion rubles ($1.51 billion) by the end of August, already exceeding last year’s total of 116.5 billion rubles, budget data showed.
Reuters reported last year that some foreign companies trying to exit Russia were facing steep cost increases as Moscow demanded deeper discounts, far above the 50% minimum it initially demanded.
The “exit tax” was initially set at 10% but has gradually increased to 15%. Now the government’s committee responsible for foreign asset sales is considering a “significant increase,” a person familiar with the matter told RBC.
The contribution could rise to as much as 40%, two people RBC spoke to said.
Asked for comment, the Finance Ministry said: “We are constantly discussing the effectiveness of the subcommittee’s work and the approach taken in reviewing transactions. At this time, no new decisions have been taken.”
The need to increase the budget contribution stems from cases where the valuation used was too cheap, limiting potential returns, said one of the sources at RBC.