According to Deputy Finance Minister Andrei Belkavets, negotiations on compensating Belarus for losses from the tax maneuver in Russia are continuing at all levels, but no agreement has yet been reached, BelTA informs.
Mr Belkavets said that the topic of compensation for tax maneuver is constantly coming up. “The discussion is going on at all levels,” he noted. However, there are yet no results that could be made public.
The tax maneuver, which Russia plans to implement, envisages a phased cancellation of export duties on oil while simultaneously increasing the mineral extraction tax starting from 2019. As a result, from 2024, Belarus will buy raw materials at world prices and lose the advantage over competitors outside the EAEU. According to the Minister of Finance of Belarus, Maksim Yermalovich, the total losses of the country’s budget from the tax maneuver from 2019 to 2024 may amount to $ 8-12 billion. Minsk wants to get compensation from Moscow for the tax maneuver, but the Russian side has not yet agreed to this.
Minsk demands from Moscow compensation for losses from tax maneuver. However, the Russian leadership links the solution of this issue with the deepening of integration — in particular, with the implementation of the agreement on the creation of the Union State of December 8, 1999. Alyaksandr Lukashenka, in turn, has repeatedly stated that Belarus will never give up its sovereignty.
