In 2019 Belarus lost about $330 million due to the so-called tax maneuver in Russia. Prime Minister Syarhei Rumas said on Thursday.
“Belarus’ total losses in 2019 were close to $330 mln, including $130 mln lost by the state budget and nearly $200 million lost by oil refineries,” state-run news agency BelTA quotes Rumas.
In December 2018, Finance Minister Maksim Yermalovich announced that Russia’s tax maneuver might result in Belarus’ losing BYN 630 mln in 2019.
Russia counts on completing the tax maneuver by 2025. It provided for a gradual zeroing of export duties on oil and an increase in the tax on the extraction of natural resources. The tax maneuver is not in the interests of the Belarusian budget, since it entails an increase in the price of oil for Belarus. This will result in the Belarusian refineries receiving raw materials at world prices and losing their advantages over competitors outside the Eurasian Economic Union.
