Kremlin plotted to blame unpopular tax rise on west to shield Vladimir Putin
The Kremlin has decided to publicly blame the west for a forthcoming tax rise to spare Vladimir Putin from criticism that his war economy is starting to hurt ordinary Russians.
The budget will raise the rate of value added tax in Russia from 20 per cent to 22 per cent from January, going against Putin’s pledge not to raise taxes again before 2030.
The guidlines prescribe that the media should place responsibility for the tax rise on the west, arguing it is “not interested in a peaceful settlement” of the Ukraine war.
“Your money or your life?” is among the phrases the guidelines recommend using, along with “nothing matters more than security”.
The guidelines also required that any personal mention of Putin in relation to VAT news be avoided, while “positive” aspects of other tax changes introduced in the budget law — such as higher rates for gambling companies — should be emphasised.
Resorting to fiscal decisions so unpopular that they required a separate propaganda campaign to head off dissent suggests the Kremlin’s economic room for manoeuvre is shrinking.
That marks a stark contrast with the early years of the war when record revenues from oil and gas and strong economic growth allowed Russia to fund its military campaign in Ukraine without visible sacrifices at home.
“Even with the planned tax increases, next year’s budget plan does not seem realistic,” said Janis Kluge, an expert on Russia’s economy with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “It anticipates a significant reduction in war spending, but if the war continues, this is simply not feasible.”
The VAT rise — the second direct tax increase since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — is just one of the measures Moscow has brought in to squeeze funds out of its slowing economy.
Others include cutting tax benefits for small businesses, raising payments from the IT sector, introducing new levies on technology and car imports, increasing duties on gambling companies and targeting the personal income of “foreign agents”, as the Kremlin formally labels its critics.
https://www.ft.com/content/212673d1-1527...03e4055fcd
The Kremlin has decided to publicly blame the west for a forthcoming tax rise to spare Vladimir Putin from criticism that his war economy is starting to hurt ordinary Russians.
The budget will raise the rate of value added tax in Russia from 20 per cent to 22 per cent from January, going against Putin’s pledge not to raise taxes again before 2030.
The guidlines prescribe that the media should place responsibility for the tax rise on the west, arguing it is “not interested in a peaceful settlement” of the Ukraine war.
“Your money or your life?” is among the phrases the guidelines recommend using, along with “nothing matters more than security”.
The guidelines also required that any personal mention of Putin in relation to VAT news be avoided, while “positive” aspects of other tax changes introduced in the budget law — such as higher rates for gambling companies — should be emphasised.
Resorting to fiscal decisions so unpopular that they required a separate propaganda campaign to head off dissent suggests the Kremlin’s economic room for manoeuvre is shrinking.
That marks a stark contrast with the early years of the war when record revenues from oil and gas and strong economic growth allowed Russia to fund its military campaign in Ukraine without visible sacrifices at home.
“Even with the planned tax increases, next year’s budget plan does not seem realistic,” said Janis Kluge, an expert on Russia’s economy with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “It anticipates a significant reduction in war spending, but if the war continues, this is simply not feasible.”
The VAT rise — the second direct tax increase since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — is just one of the measures Moscow has brought in to squeeze funds out of its slowing economy.
Others include cutting tax benefits for small businesses, raising payments from the IT sector, introducing new levies on technology and car imports, increasing duties on gambling companies and targeting the personal income of “foreign agents”, as the Kremlin formally labels its critics.
https://www.ft.com/content/212673d1-1527...03e4055fcd
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
