Kommersant: The Ministry of Finance has prepared amendments to adjust taxes for oil workers

The amendments prepared by the Ministry of Finance on adjusting the parameters of taxation of the oil industry are at the final stage of approval by the government, writes “Kommersant”, familiarized with their content.

The amendments are being introduced by the second reading of the draft law on the main directions of tax policy, adopted on June 20. The Ministry of Finance expects the adoption of the law before the end of July – otherwise the amendments will not be able to work from September. The amendments are likely to be approved by the Cabinet on July 10.

The Ministry of Finance proposes to halve payments to oil workers under the fuel damper, but not for a year, as previously expected, but by the end of 2026. The amendments also provide for the indexation of indicative prices for gasoline and diesel in the damper formula by 3% in 2026, and an increase in excises for fuel by 4% annually until 2026.

The project also includes the transfer of extra-viscous oil fields to the third group of additional income tax (ATD). Benefits for the production of such oil have been canceled since 2021, the publication reminds, because of which they suffered more than others.Lukoil” And “Tatneft“. It is, as noted, about areas where at least 70% of production falls on oil with a viscosity of at least 10 thousand millipascal-seconds.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance proposes to extend the increased MET on oil until the end of 2026, as well as to improve the methodology for determining oil prices used to calculate taxes. In accordance with the current legislation, when determining the active price of oil, the maximum of two values ​​is used – either Urals quotes for Argus, or Brent minus a fixed discount. Brent at $20 a barrel.

As Vedomosti wrote earlier today, revenues to Russian oil companies from the budget under the damping mechanism decreased in January-June 2023 by 2.4 times compared to the same period last year to 542.6 billion rubles. In June of this year, transfers under the fuel damper amounted to 78.6 billion rubles, which is almost three times lower than in June last year. Payments have been declining for the second month in a row: in May 2023 they amounted to 103.5 billion rubles, in April – 107.2 billion rubles.