As A Result Of Tax Reform Tax Collection In Russia Sizeably Increased, German Gref Said In London

As a result of the tax reform, the tax collection in Russia in the first quarter of this year grew by 36 per cent compared to the same period of 2000. As the RIA Novosti correspondent reports, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Russia German Gref stated this at the business forum which is being held in London in connection with a meeting of the Board of Managers of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). According to Gref, the income tax accounts for the largest part of tax collection. Compared to the first quarter of last year, the collection of the this tax went up by 63 per cent. As German Gref noted, this confirms that the carrying out of a radical tax reform was well-grounded, and that the policy of building such relations with private business, in the context of which mutual understanding between power and business will exist, is correct. According to the Minister, today not a single legislative act concerning the interests of business is adopted without a preliminary discussion of this question with representatives of the business world. German Gref called the results of the development of the Russian economy in 2000 "very significant". For instance, according to him, the total volume of the inflow of foreign investments in 2000 increased by 15 per cent as against the year of 1999, and the gold and currency reserves grew by 2.2 times over the same period. Besides that, as the Russian representative noted, as a result taking corresponding measures, specifically in the legislative sphere, "shadow business" lost 3 billion dollars last year. In this connection the Minister pointed to the necessity of making the positive tendencies, achieved last year, stable. German Gref stressed that creation of a favourable investment climate is a major direction of the Russian government's activity. Entry into the WTO is also a priority of the government. The Minister also informed the participants in the business forum of the legislative acts which are being prepared in Russia and are directed at advancing the Russian economy along the road of reforms. In particular, he said about the plans to reform the natural monopolies.

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