Meeting of the Expert Group “Tax Policy”

The Expert Group on development of proposals on urgent problems of Russia’s socio-economic strategy for the period through 2020 on the direction “Tax Policy” (Group № 6) held its closed session on 13 April 2011 at the Institute of Economic Policy named after Ye. T. Gaidar to discuss strategic options in regard to the social contributions (uniform social tax) reform.


Specifically, the Group debated the following issues:
  1. The nature of the tax in question (whether it constitutes a tax, or an insurance premium);
  2. The degree of its progressiveness (hyper regression, regression or a flat scale);
  3. The rate (factors that can determine it; an absence of the Pension Fund’s deficit; international competitiveness; affordability for businesses; how much one should pay for the employee for 30 years so that he/she would enjoy a 40% wage replacement rate);
  4. Benefits (whether they should be extended, left at the present level, or cut);
  5. Sources of compensation for a lowering of the rate (excise taxes, a mining sector taxation reform);
  6. Who should be the payer (the employer only; both the employer and the employee).