Oil exporters may fall under Kudrin’s scissors due to exchange rate volatility

For the first time in a long time, energy exporters may again face Kudrin’s scissors – a fiscal “trick” arising from the time gap between the moment of actual payment of taxes and the period of their accrual. The appearance of such an effect is expected by the experts interviewed by Vedomosti, their forecast is confirmed by the sources of Vedomosti.

The term appeared in the mid-2000s, when Alexei Kudrin was in charge of the Ministry of Finance: it was under him that the schedule of settlements with the budget was systematized in such a way that the amount of current payments was accrued based on the previous situation. In other words, the tax paid today was calculated according to such parameters as, for example, the price of oil and the exchange rate of the ruble as of yesterday. Exporters underpay taxes when oil prices rise or the ruble weakens, and overpay when the opposite occurs.