Programme

The Aims and Scope of Revamping a Tax System

RUSSIAN ECONOMIC AGENDA
Panel Session
Congress Centre, Conference Hall B1

The foremost objective of a tax system today is to stimulate business and economic activity and attract investment so as to create a competitive environment for the development of enterprises. To this end, existing fiscal benefits must be streamlined and made more targeted while ineffective tools should be quickly jettisoned. At the same time, the tax system must remain competitive, comprehensible, and as transparent and predictable as possible. How should the Russian tax system be revamped? How can we preserve the sustainability of the budget system and make sure the state’s social obligations are met? What should investors expect in the near future? Can new tax administration technologies help reduce the burden on business of calculating taxes?

Moderator:
Andrey Makarov , Chairman of the Committee on Budget and Taxes, The State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation

Panellists
Jörg Gasser , State Secretary for International Financial Matters, Federal Department of Finance of the Swiss Confederation
Tatyana Golikova , Chairwoman, Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Mau , Rector, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)
Anton Siluanov , Finance Minister of the Russian Federation
Frank Schauff , Chief Executive Officer, Association of European Businesses


Yuriy Gorlin , Deputy Director of the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)
Dmitry Satin , Deputy Commissioner, Federal Tax Service (FTS)

Broadcast

Key moments

People are ready to pay taxes. That is not a problem. The problem is what the Government needs money for.
Jörg Gasser
State Secretary for International Financial Matters, Federal Department of Finance of the Swiss Confederation
Having corrected the relevant budget legislation, this marks the first time we will have a register of non-tax payments that we can understand in terms of how they are levied, which acts they are regulated by, what the tax base is, and what the payment procedure is.
Tatyana Golikova
Chairwoman, Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation
Taxes are not a key problem for business or an impediment for economic growth in the current situation. The security of the individual and property is more important than the tax rate.
Vladimir Mau
Rector, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)
We will make the tax system understandable, transparent, and incentive-based for new investments and the development of entrepreneurship.
Anton Siluanov
Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation
The ‘22/22’ maneuver for European companies in Russia may result not in a decrease, but an increase in the tax burden on salaries.
Frank Schauff
Chief Executive Officer, Association of European Businesses
The whole world strives to make the tax sphere transparent. Preventing the erosion of the tax base is a global trend.
Andrey Makarov
Chairman, Committee on Budget and Taxes
We have a balanced tax system, although there is one drawback. [...] We try to seek out additional taxes where there’s ‘light’, while the alternative is to look in the shadows, where taxes are not being collected.
Alexander Zhukov
First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation; President of the Russian Olympic Committee