Belarus and Russia agree on tax manoeuvre compensation

Belarusian PM Mihail Myasnikovich, Russian PM Dmitri Medvedev, head of the Belarusian President’s Administration Andrei Kabyakou and Russian vice PM Arkadi Dvorkovich took part in the negotiations.

An agreement on oil products customs fees for 2015 has been reached there, Dvorkovich said. “The agreement takes into account the previous agreements on oil supplies and the losses suffered by the budget of the Republic of Belarus due to ‘the great tax manoeuvre’,” RIA Novosti quotes Arkadi Dvorkovich.

Our country pays about $4 billion a year to the Russian budget for oil products export. The oil products are made from Russian oil supplied to Belarus without any customs fees. As of 2015, Belarus will be able to reduce the sum by $1.5 billion. The saved money may be used to pay the country’s foreign debt.

When the Russian government prepared the tax manoeuvre bill, Belarus calculated the losses that the innovation would cause – $1 billion. Minsk wanted to settle the issue before the Eurasian Economic Union agreement was ratified. The ratification is appointed on Thursday.

Belarus ill keep at least one more billion of customs fees for the export of oil products thanks to the today’s agreement, ONT reports.

Photo: Fotolia