November 25. website - The president Russia Vladimir Putin signed law on the indexation of excise tax rates in 2015-2017 and a number of other changes to Russian tax legislation. The Law “On Amendments to Part Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”, adopted by the State Duma on November 14 and approved by the Federation Council on November 19, is posted on the official Internet portal of legal information. Excise tax rates on alcohol The excise tax rate on alcohol sold to organizations that do not pay an advance excise tax will remain at 93 and 102 rubles per liter in 2015 and 2016, and will increase to 107 rubles from 2017. For alcohol-containing products, the excise tax rate was retained for 2015 at 400 rubles per liter, for 2016 it will be 400 rubles (previously 500 rubles per liter), from 2017 - 418 rubles (previously 550 rubles per liter). The excise tax rate on alcohol with a strength of more than 9% in 2015 will decrease from the previously established 600 rubles to 500 rubles per liter, in 2016 it will decrease from 660 rubles to 500 rubles, and from 2017 it will be equal to 523 rubles per liter. For alcohol with a strength of up to 9%, the excise tax rate in 2015 will be equal to 400 rubles per liter (500 rubles), in 2016 it will remain at the level of 400 rubles (previously 550 rubles per liter), from 2017 the excise tax will be 418 rubles per liter. The excise tax rate on grape and fruit wines in 2015 will decrease from the previously established 9 rubles to 8 rubles per liter, in 2016 - from 10 rubles to 9 rubles, from 2017 the rate will be equal to 10 rubles. Cider, poire and mead will be subject to excise duty at a rate of 8 rubles per liter in 2015 (previously 9 rubles), in 2016 - 9 rubles (previously 10 rubles), and from 2017 it will be 10 rubles per liter. The rate for sparkling wines in 2015 will decrease from 26 rubles to 25 rubles per liter, in 2016 - from 27 rubles to 26 rubles, from 2017 the rate will be equal to 27 rubles. For beer with an alcohol content of up to 0.5%, the excise tax rate remains zero for all three years. For beer with a strength of 0.5% to 8.6%, the rate in 2015 will decrease from 20 rubles to 18 rubles per liter, in 2016 from 21 rubles to 20 rubles, and from 2017 the excise tax will be 21 rubles. For strong beer with an alcohol content of over 8.6%, the excise tax rate in 2015 will be reduced from 37 rubles to 31 rubles per liter, in 2016 from 39 rubles to 37 rubles, and from 2017 the rate will be 39 rubles. Excise tax rates on tobacco For tobacco products, excise tax rates are indexed at a rate that is faster than the inflation rate. The excise tax on tobacco from 2017 will be 2 thousand 200 rubles per 1 kg of product. The excise tax on cigars will be set at 155 rubles per piece, on cigarillos - 2 thousand 207 rubles per 1 thousand pieces. The excise tax on tobacco in 2015 and 2016 will be 1 thousand 800 rubles and 2 thousand rubles, respectively. The excise tax on cigars in 2015 will be 128 rubles, in 2016 - 141 rubles; for cigarillos - 1 thousand 920 rubles per 1 thousand pieces in 2015, 2 thousand 112 rubles in 2016. The excise tax on cigarettes and cigarettes in 2015 will be 960 rubles per 1 thousand pieces plus 11% of the estimated cost, calculated on the basis of the maximum retail price, but not less than 1 thousand 330 rubles per 1 thousand pieces. In 2016, the excise tax will be 1 thousand 250 rubles plus 12% of the estimated cost, calculated on the basis of the maximum retail price, but not less than 1 thousand 680 rubles. In 2017, the excise tax will be 1 thousand 420 rubles plus 13% of the estimated cost, calculated on the basis of the maximum retail price, but not less than 1 thousand 930 rubles per 1 thousand pieces. Excise taxes on cars For vehicles up to 90 hp. The excise tax rate will remain zero for three years. For cars with power from 90 hp. up to 150 hp in 2015, the excise tax will be 37 rubles per 1 hp, in 2016 - 41 rubles, from 2017 - 43 rubles. For passenger cars and motorcycles with power over 150 hp. the excise tax in 2015 remains at the level of 365 rubles per 1 hp, in 2016 at the level of 402 rubles, from 2017 the rate will be 420 rubles. Personal income tax The law provides for an increase in the personal income tax rate in relation to income from equity participation in the activities of organizations received in the form of dividends by resident individuals RF, from 9% to 13%, as well as a symmetrical increase in the corporate income tax rate for similar transactions. It is expected that these changes will bring the consolidated budget of the Russian Federation 32.8 billion rubles in 2015, 35.5 billion rubles in 2016 and 38.5 billion rubles in 2017. Water tax Water tax rates established by current legislation will be applied with an increasing coefficient. In 2015, the coefficient will be 1.15, in 2016 - 1.32, in 2017 - 1.52, and by 2025 it will increase to 4.65. The tax rate will also increase when withdrawing water from water bodies for water supply to the population: in 2015 - from 70 rubles to 81 rubles per 1 thousand cubic meters of water, in 2016 - to 93 rubles, in 2017 - to 107 rubles. As a result of a gradual increase in the rate in 2025, it will be equal to 326 rubles per 1 thousand cubic meters of water. The water tax rate for the extraction of groundwater (with the exception of industrial, mineral, and thermal waters) will be applied with an additional coefficient of 10. Changes in water tax rates and fees for the use of water bodies can bring the federal budget and the budgets of constituent entities of the Russian Federation 12.9 billion rubles per year. year. VAT refund A new article has been added to the Tax Code (TC), which determines the procedure and timing for the restoration of tax amounts accepted for deduction in relation to acquired or constructed fixed assets. The provisions of the new article relate to operations for carrying out capital construction of real estate, purchasing real estate, purchasing goods, works and services for construction and installation work. The Tax Code also added provisions on taxation of movable property of organizations. Organizations are exempt from paying property tax in relation to movable property registered as fixed assets from January 1, 2013, with the exception of objects registered as a result of the reorganization and liquidation of legal entities or as a result of the transfer of property between taxpayers recognized as interdependent persons . In addition, the possibility of applying a reducing coefficient on the property tax of individuals, calculated at the cadastral value, for five years in relation to shopping and office centers is excluded.
Alcohol prices have risen in Ukraine: starting this Sunday, minimum retail prices for vodka, cognac and wine have increased by an average of 20%. This decision was made by the country's cabinet of ministers. Alcohol production factories are one of the main donors of the state budget. However, this measure could play a cruel joke on the government. Now more than half of the Ukrainian vodka market is in the shadows, and there is a danger that with an increase in price, the share of counterfeit products will increase, and the production of legal products will decline. Details are in the material of the Kyiv correspondent of RT.
- Buyer in one of the supermarkets in Kyiv
- Reuters
- Gleb Garanich
From August 20, minimum retail prices for alcoholic beverages will increase in Ukraine. Vodka will rise in price by 14% - to 79.55 UAH. ($3) per 0.5 liter bottle. Cognac - by 15-30%. So, a three-star drink will cost 119.46 UAH. ($4.6), five-star - 138.5 UAH. ($5.3) per 0.5 liter bottle. Grape wine rose in price by 12% - to 37 UAH. ($1.42) per 0.7 liter bottle, and sparkling wines - by 13.3%, to 79.19 UAH. ($3).
“The minimum retail price for alcohol was introduced in November 2016. At the same time, in 2017, excise tax rates on most alcoholic beverages (vodka, liqueurs, cognac, wine, etc.) increased. There has also been an increase in other price components, so today the minimum prices do not correspond to the real costs of production and sale of alcoholic beverages,” the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine said in a statement.
The government increased excise taxes on alcoholic beverages on March 1, 2017. For alcoholic beverages they increased by 20% - to 126.96 UAH. ($4.9) per liter of 100% alcohol. The Cabinet of Ministers noted that they responded to repeated requests from large producers to increase the minimum retail prices for alcohol.
Budget Donor
Alcohol in Ukraine has been rapidly rising in price over the past three years. For example, in 2014, the minimum retail price for vodka was half as low - 40 UAH. ($1.5) per 0.5 liter bottle.
Alcohol companies are one of the main donors to the state budget. According to estimates by the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the March increase in excise taxes on alcohol will additionally bring the budget 1.3 billion UAH at the end of the year. ($50 million).
For comparison: Ukraine’s total revenues in 2017 will amount to UAH 721.4 billion. ($27.7 billion), of which 190.8 billion UAH. ($7.3 billion) are the country’s various loans.
“Last year, the government promised to introduce a moratorium on increasing excise taxes for the next two to three years, but did not keep its promise. The financial burden on producers is already growing due to an increase in minimum wages, rising prices for utilities and alcohol,” the head of a large alcohol company told RT.
- Reuters
- Gleb Garanich
An RT source in the Ukrainian government said that the next increase in the price of alcoholic beverages is associated with the decision of Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman to increase pensions by an average of 10.1% starting this fall.
“For these purposes, it is necessary to find an additional 40-50 billion UAH. ($1.5-1.9 billion), so all possible means are being used,” said RT’s interlocutor.
- Reuters
- Konstantin Chernichkin
Consumers prepared for price increases in advance. The director of a Ukrainian supermarket chain told RT that sales of alcohol in the first two weeks of August were 20% higher compared to the same period last year.
“Consumers bought vodka in boxes,” the interlocutor emphasized.
Go into the shadows
Rising prices for alcoholic beverages will have a negative impact on the industry, experts say. The specialized association “Ukrvodka” estimates the share of the shadow market of forty-degree water at 40-50% of total consumption. In the coming years it could grow to 60%. As a rule, illegal vodka is sold in markets, small shops and “razlivayki” (inexpensive cafes where alcohol is sold at low prices for bottling), the director of a large alcohol company told RT.
“The prices for such products, which are often copies of well-known brands, are approximately 20-30% lower compared to legally produced goods. There are no problems with its sales,” he emphasized.
The production of counterfeit products in Ukraine is thriving. For example, on August 1, the police, with the participation of special forces, conducted 52 searches at illegal vodka mini-factories in the Ternopil, Transcarpathian and Lviv regions. Security forces discovered and seized 90 thousand bottles of counterfeit goods and more than 80 thousand liters of alcohol totaling UAH 30 million. ($1.15 million).
Legal production of alcoholic products is declining: alcohol is becoming more expensive, and people are buying cheaper illegal products.
- Reuters
- Gleb Garanich
In the first six months of 2017, 19.8% less vodka was produced in Ukraine compared to the same period last year - up to 6.4 million deciliters. Over the same period, the production of cognac and brandy decreased by 21.7% - to 909 thousand deciliters, according to a study by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. The decline may accelerate before the end of the year.
An inevitable price jump awaits consumers in 2016. The fall in oil prices led to inflation and devaluation of the ruble, respectively, to higher prices for goods and services during 2015. For which groups of goods should we expect further price increases in 2016?
The only thing that can remain at the same level is mobile communications, the Internet and apartments. For everything else, Russians will have to pay 5-20% more.
Products
Increase by 10-15%. It is associated with an increase in the cost of transportation, which in turn is associated with the introduction of a toll for heavy trucks over 12 tons.
Tax on fishermen will increase cost of fish for the consumer. From 2% on the price of cod and up to 15% on herring. This will happen if the law “On increasing the fee rate for the use of biological resources” is adopted, the draft of which the government must submit to the State Duma before July 1 on Putin’s instructions.
Cereals, bread, dairy products, fruits and vegetables will rise in price within the limits of inflation. On meat and poultry the price may fluctuate within 10%. Next year, an increase in the output of meat products is expected, which will become a limiting factor for price growth.
Alcohol and cigarettes.
Amateurs may suffer the most imported wines. It is expected that Rosalkogolregulirovanie will set minimum prices for alcoholic beverages. They have not yet been installed. A fork of 120-140 rubles is being discussed. Since the volume of sales of imported wines is small, prices for them are always set with a reserve.
Price cigarettes in 2016 can be compared with the cost of delicacies and smoking for Russians can become an unaffordable luxury. The excise tax rate will increase by 30% from the new year and the price for a pack of cigarettes will rise by 10-11 rubles.
Increase in price beer due to the refusal of most breweries to bottle in large plastic bottles. Starting next year, beer will be sold in containers of up to 1 liter, and packaging costs will accordingly increase. So, the consumer will have to pay 1 ruble more for each bottle of beer.
The price of “folk vodka” will remain the same. And the price increase for other vodka products will be within 7-8%. This is due to competition in the alcoholic beverages market and no one will dare to significantly increase the price.
Distributors made purchases in advance products for children, cosmetics and clothing. Therefore, price increases of 10 to 20% for these groups of goods can be expected in the second quarter of 2016.
The price increase will also affect the following goods and services:
Public transport 7-15%, and already from January 1st by 6.9%
Catering- gradual increase in price by 30%.
Cars - 5%
Appliances- 10-15%
Flights - in Russia by 10%. Foreign trips by 20%
Railway passage- 7,5%
Housing and communal services- 4-15% Russians on average will have to pay 200 rubles more.
Medicines- by 5-20%
Beauty Salons- up to 7%
And one last thing. Fitness centers will increase the cost of services, since equipment and simulators are imported and their price is tied to the dollar exchange rate. Due to this sports will increase by 5-20% and the costs will fall on the shoulders of those visiting sports clubs.
Buying legal vodka is beyond the means of millions of Russians. Photo by Oleg Lastochkin (NG photo)
The government is starting to work on the mistakes of tax and alcohol policy, which led to the flourishing of the gray market and moonshine in the country. First, President Vladimir Putin suspended a sharp increase in excise taxes on alcohol. And yesterday it turned out that some departments are ready to sharply reduce the price of legal vodka. True, the Ministry of Finance came out sharply against cheap vodka, citing the structural deficit of the federal budget.
The main news for the Russian consumer market was the publication by Russia Today of recommendations from the Ministry of Industry and Trade to reduce prices for alcohol, reduce the cost of licensing the retail trade of alcohol and abandon “excessive and unjustified” restrictions - for example, on the sale of strong drinks on the Internet.
Denis Manturov’s department proposes to “form a balanced excise policy” aimed at ensuring that “the price of legal strong alcohol (vodka) approaches the optimal level – 100 rubles. for 0.5 liters,” beer did not rise in price, and “quality wine” became “more affordable” for consumers. Note that the cost of industrial or artisanal production of vodka does not exceed 30–40 rubles. per bottle. And more than half of the retail price of vodka is direct taxes, which are divided between the federal and regional budgets.
Rising prices for legal alcohol and falling incomes of citizens are increasing the share of illegal and counterfeit vodka, as well as moonshine. The head of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, believes that the shadow production of alcohol in the regions exceeds 50%, which is why the budget is losing about 290 billion rubles. per year (see).
However, not all officials are ready to admit the mistakes of excise policy. “A bottle of vodka cannot cost 100 rubles, since only the excise tax and VAT in the cost of one bottle of vodka amount to 118 rubles. Thus, a reduction in the cost of vodka is possible only if the excise tax is reduced, which will lead to a loss of federal and regional revenues in a ratio of 60 to 40. The Ministry of Finance cannot afford to reduce excise tax rates on alcoholic products in the context of a structural deficit of the federal budget. State policy must be consistent,” the Ministry of Finance told NG yesterday.
Meanwhile, earlier the Ministry of Finance actually abandoned the accelerated increase in excise taxes, which pushed retail prices of vodka to 300 rubles. and higher.
The policy “vodka is more expensive than 300 rubles.” per bottle" was formulated in 2010. “Within three years we must pass the minimum price of vodka 120, 160, 200 rubles. – for three years, that is, in 2011, 2012, 2013,” explained then-Deputy Minister of Finance Sergei Shatalov. This course was also supported by the then head of Rospotrebnadzor Gennady Onishchenko, who demanded that vodka cost at least 300 rubles. per bottle.
The policy of increasing excise taxes, conceived by Alexei Kudrin, yielded results: the production of legal alcohol fell by 11%, and budget revenues decreased by 8%. This result of “public administration” was summed up in 2014 by the Federal Service for Regulation of the Alcohol Market (see).
In this regard, President Vladimir Putin slowed down the increase in excise taxes on alcohol. In November 2014, he signed a new schedule for increasing excise taxes on alcohol. In 2015, the president reduced the excise tax on alcohol with a strength of more than 9% from the previously established 600 rubles. up to 500 rub. per liter of pure alcohol, in 2016 the excise tax was reduced from 660 rubles. up to 500 rub. For 2017, the excise tax was planned at 523 rubles. per liter of pure alcohol.
Let us note that the fight against illegal alcohol production at industrial enterprises has yielded some positive results. In the first half of 2016, alcohol excise tax collections amounted to 78.8 billion rubles, which is almost 25% more than in the same period last year.
It is noteworthy that the report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade refutes common assertions about the connection between public health and alcohol consumption.
“The volume of alcohol consumption per capita is not a significant factor for the health of the nation, public morality and morality,” and “mortality and life expectancy indicators do not depend on the volume of average per capita alcohol consumption,” RT quotes a document from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
“The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation has a negative attitude towards reducing excise taxes on alcoholic products. Such a measure can increase the availability of alcoholic beverages for the population, including children. A further increase in excise taxes on alcoholic products is one of the measures recommended by the Concept for the implementation of state policy to reduce alcohol abuse and prevent alcoholism among the population,” the Ministry of Health told NG.
“Increasing excise taxes and increasing retail prices lead to the fact that consumer choice is increasingly shifting in favor of cheap illegal products. Thus, it is a balanced excise policy that can become the main tool for combating the gray market and replenishing the budget,” says Oraz Durdyev, director of legal issues and corporate relations at SUN InBev. According to him, a reduction in the excise tax rate in the long term should lead to an increase in collections for the federal budget. “In addition, this measure will whiten the market and make work in the gray and black segments economically less profitable,” says the expert.
Strong alcohol should rise in price faster than inflation, according to the Russian Ministry of Health. The department sent proposals to the Ministry of Finance on how to achieve this. Current legislation assumes that the excise tax rate on strong alcohol will not change until 2020. The Ministry proposes to review it already in 2018. Currently, the minimum retail price for a half-liter bottle of vodka is 205 rubles. The optimal price for such a bottle is more than 300 rubles, the department believes.
The Ministry of Health has sent proposals to the Ministry of Finance to increase the excise tax on alcohol with an alcohol content of more than 9% in 2018. A representative of the ministry told Izvestia about this. The growth rate of the tax rate, according to the department, should outpace inflation. The target for this year is 4%, in July it was 3.9%, as indicated on the Central Bank website.
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- Increasing excise taxes is the most effective method of reducing alcohol consumption. When we index the excise tax to inflation, we maintain the already existing availability of alcohol. For strong products, including vodka, the tax rate should grow faster than inflation so that such alcohol becomes less affordable than low-alcohol products, said a representative of the Ministry of Health. He added that the optimal price for a 0.5 liter bottle of vodka should be more than 300 rubles.
The press service of the Ministry of Health declined to comment further.
At the end of June this year, the government introduced amendments to the Tax Code, according to which the excise tax on strong alcohol in 2018–2019 will remain unchanged - 523 rubles per liter of anhydrous alcohol. Indexation will occur only from January 1, 2020 - up to 544 rubles, i.e. by 4%. At the end of July, the law was signed by the president. Excise tax rates on alcohol are determined based on the need to solve several problems simultaneously. This is the formation of budget revenues, limiting alcohol consumption and changing the structure of such consumption in favor of low-alcohol products. This was stated by representatives of the Department of Tax and Customs Policy of the Ministry of Finance.
From 2012 to 2014, the excise tax rate on strong alcohol increased by 97% - from 254 rubles per liter of anhydrous alcohol to 500 rubles; in 2015–2016 it did not change. The minimum retail price for vodka in 2012 was 125 rubles for a half-liter bottle - by May 2017 it increased to 205 rubles. As a result, from 2013 to 2016, the volumes of production and sales of strong alcoholic beverages decreased sharply. Production fell 35.5% to 89.7 million dl, and sales fell 36% to 93 million dl.
However, the decrease in the availability of legal alcohol has led to an increase in the illegal sector, which experts estimate at 50–60%. Deputy Head of the Ministry of Economic Development Oleg Fomichev reported this in a letter to the Federation Council at the beginning of 2017.
Since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance have been discussing alcohol rates. The Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed reducing them. The optimal price for a half-liter bottle of vodka, according to two departments, is 120–130 rubles.
Chairman of the Board of the International Confederation of Consumer Societies Dmitry Yanin is confident that serious changes in alcohol consumption can be expected only when a half-liter bottle of vodka costs about 500 rubles.
The head of the Center for Research of Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets, Vadim Drobiz, is convinced that consumers who have already switched to surrogate drinks will not react in any way to the increase in vodka prices. Meanwhile, the legal market is capable of shrinking by 10% - people will reorient themselves to homemade moonshine.
The Ministry of Finance did not respond to Izvestia’s request.
