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Russia has confirmed plans to impose a tax on foreign companies leaving the country.
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Famous names left Russia amid a global outcry over the invasion of Ukraine.
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Russia imposed taxes and financial penalties and this proved to be a boost to the treasury.
Russia has confirmed it will make it more expensive for foreign companies to leave the country.
On Thursday, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters that the tax foreign companies would have to pay for the sale of their Russian assets would increase. Interfax reports this.
The tax on the value of such a deal would rise from 15% to as much as 25%, “plus 5% one year and 5% the next, so 35% in total,” he said, according to the news agency.
Siluanov also said the discount that foreign companies must offer on the sales value of their assets would increase from 50% to 60%, Interfax added.
His words confirm a report last week by Russian state-controlled outlet RBC, which cited sources familiar with the discussions.
Russia first introduced the penalties for leaving then household names such as McDonald’s announced they would exit or drastically scale back operations in Russia amid a global outcry over the invasion of Ukraine.
The money has been an important boost for the Russian treasury. In March, RBC reports this companies leaving Russia had already paid 35.7 billion rubles, or about $387 million, into the Russian budget.
The process of leaving Russia is often complex, tricky and expensive.
In March, a Reuters analysis found that foreign companies had incurred costs of more than $107 billion in write-offs and lost revenue.
Earlier this year, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev said the Russian state was raising a “significant amount” and said there were “no plans” to increase the exit tax, Interfax reported.
Yuri Nikolaev, managing partner of law firm Nikolaev and Partners, told RBC that the new measures were intended to pressure foreign companies to remain in Russia and hold funds despite sanctions.
Public pressure in the West on companies to divest from Russia has been intense PR headache for those who have hesitated.
According to Leave RussiaAt least 428 companies have left Russia completely, with more than 1,700 ongoing operations, according to a tracker from the Kiev Institute of Economics.
Hundreds of others have chosen to scale back or suspend their operations, the tracker said.
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