Comments

In late March 2010 the WTO Secretariat published its analytical review of the international trade for the year of 2009 and presented outlooks for 2010. The document comprises preliminary cross-country statistics by the 2009 global trade with goods and services.

On March 26, 2010, the Bank of Russia announced that the refinancing rate would be lowered again, from 8.5% to 8.25% annualized, effective as of March 29. At the same time, the CBR lowered by 0.25 p.p. a string of interest rates on instruments of provision of liquidity to the banking sector and deposits attracted from credit institutions.

On March 24, 2010 the RF Government Presidium considered the project for the main directions of customs and tariff policy for 2011 and for the planning period of 2012 and 2013. The report concerning the matter was held by the RF Minister for Economic Development E. Nabiullina. The main part of the report was devoted to the forthcoming work within Customs Union with Belorussia and Kazakhstan and gradual transfer fr om crisis protectionist regulation to post-crisis.

On March 23, 2010 a round table devoted to the issues of increase in the efficiency of control and taxpayer’s right protection was organized in the Federation Council.

Introduction of new tax- tax on additional (surplus) income – for the enterprises of oil and gas sector in Russia has been planned for more than 10 years. However the date for transfer is postponed again and again.

On March, 18th public debates devoted to the social policy took place in Lomonosov Moscow State University. The meeting was organized by the Association of independent centers of economic analysis.

RF State Duma has adopted amendments to article 164 of the RF Tax Code eliminating the contradictions between the norms of subparagraph 9 paragraph 1 article 164 and paragraph 5 article 165 of the RF Tax Code.

On March, 19 the Bank of Russia announced that starting with May, 1st the limits for credit risk, established for crediting organizations for blank credits provision will be lowered.

The dependence of the Russian budget from oil prices has strengthened incredibly: for the budget to be deficit-free in 2010 the oil should cost USD 105 per barrel (USD 62 per barrel in 2008, USD 99 per barrel in 2009). This is in sharp contrast with USD 20-40 per barrel planned in the budget of 2000-2006¹. 

According to the data of the RF Ministry for Economic Development program part of federal budget expenditures for all Federal Target Programs and Federal Targeted Investment Programs financed in 2009 was at the level of 11.5%. 

At one of the latest meetings of the RF Government when discussing the main direction for the tax policy in the middle-term, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin suggested exempting the commercial organizations operating in the field of education and health care from profit tax, which should have a positive effect on availability and quality of services in these spheres.

On March 11, 2010 newspaper RBK-daily published an article reporting on the discussion about the possibility of formation of individual saving accounts which will be managed by broker and managing companies¹. Such accounts, in the opinion of the Institute for Social Development (ISD) experts may serve as an alternative to non-government pension funds for the citizens and the operation of non-government pension funds will have more market nature.

Problems of pre-conscription training of the youth that are a matter of concern of conscripts-to-be and their parents have always been widely discussed in mass media, but lately the debates on the issues mentioned have made a new turn¹.

Starting with January 2010 the mechanism of pensions valorization envisaged by amendments made to the Federal Law "On old-age pensions" comes into effect. This mechanism was aimed at raising pensions not on equalizing terms, but taking into account the labor experience of each pension recipient individually. 

In February the inflation rate in Russia, measured with CPI, reached 0.9%. 

Recently, the Russian society was agitated with high-rank officers claims, for instance that by the General Staff Head N. Makarov on there being no reduction of conscription, it, on the contrary, growing up to the number, exceeding on average 350 thousand in each half of the year.