MOSCOW: Russia’s budget this year is to receive a surplus of one trillion rubles due to growing oil prices, Russia’s energy minister Aleksandr Novak said. According to him, for the agreement signed late last year and prolonged this year, the price would have certainly sunk to below 40 dpb. “The gain our joint measures earned us is approximately 15-20 dpb on one barrel of crude. My arithmetic tells me this: Russia produces 11 million barrels a day. That’s an extra revenue of no less than $110 million,” Novak noted. “Clearly, the amount is distributed among the federal budget and the companies, but the bulk of these incomes goes to the treasury, because we have progressive taxation: the higher the price, the greater the deductions,” he pointed out.
“The prices as they are, Russia’s budget this year is to receive a surplus of one trillion rubles in contrast to the expected target. The monthly surplus from January to May is one hundred billion,” the minister stressed, adding that the budget is undergoing an upward adjustment. Novak noted that the Russian companies agreed to assume proportionate obligations, the burden’s distribution will remain at the previous level. It is proportionate to outputs. “The pattern was transparent and fair. Of course, everybody keeps an eye on the others to be sure the pledges made voluntarily be complied with and there be no cheaters,” he said, adding that this formula is the fairest of all.
