Russian Metallurgists Must Refund $1.3Bln of 2020 Super Profits As Taxes - Senior Official

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st May, 2021) State subsidies in 2020 helped Russian metal companies make about 100 billion rubles ($1.36 billion) in super profits, which should be returned to the state budget in taxes, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said on Monday.

"We consider that metallurgists, excuse me for this word, have swindled us - the state and the budget, in terms of state investments and state defense orders - for around 100 billion rubles throughout the year. I think, they must return this money as taxes," Belousov told Russian tv channel RBC.

According to the senior official, although the profits of Russian companies exceeded expectations thanks to the state COVID-19 support measures, they increased prices in line with the global dynamics.

"I will not name the companies now and [speak] of how much they have earned. However, I can tell you that in this year of COVID-19 - the report has just come in, we can see it - the profits of metal companies increased significantly against the background of what was happening," Belousov said.

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said it was pretty normal for a state to tackle any tariff discrepancies whenever the need arises.

"It is hardly necessary to search for those who are guilty. This is economic life. business earns money, the state receives taxes. When there is a disproportion, the state smooths this disproportion," Peskov said at a briefing.

Vladimir Lisin, the chairman of the board of Russian plant Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK Group), told Sputnik that Belousov's proposal is aimed at "ignoring the double growth of tax payments by the industry competing at the global market" as well as "the significant growth of investments into the industry."

As noted in the RBC report, the Russian government has been mulling making metal prices regulated since last December, when construction companies lamented skyrocketing prices.