Russia plans new tax on electronics to boost its defence capacity

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia is readying a caller taxation connected electronics, chiefly imported and user items, with $2.7 ​billion successful proceeds earmarked to enactment the home electronics industry, including ‌in the defence sector, implicit the adjacent 3 years.

After sanctionsblocked Russia's entree to Western ‌chips and different indispensable hardware, home producers person struggled to conscionable the defence sector's request for hardware needed to physique drones and different precocious weaponry.

The deficiency of modern electronics hardware has besides hindered Russia's efforts to enactment competitory successful the ⁠race with the United States,‌ China, and others successful processing artificial intelligence, which requires important computing power.

HIKES IN VAT, TAXES ON SMALL BUSINESSES

The ‍new taxation comes connected apical of different measures, specified arsenic hikes successful value-added taxation (VAT) and taxes connected tiny businesses, planned for 2026 to equilibrium the ​state fund amid precocious subject spending and declining vigor revenues.

The caller taxation ‌will instrumentality effect successful September 2026. The database of items that volition beryllium taxed has not yet been finalised and published.

"It is indispensable to recognize that the electronics manufacture is simply a strategical assemblage successful which import substitution is critically important, including for ensuring the country's defence ⁠capability," said Deputy Finance Minister Alexei ​Sazanov.

"In the discourse of the existent outer ​restrictions that bounds entree to high-tech products, import substitution becomes a cardinal task for the state," Sazanov told members ‍of parliament during the ⁠debate connected the draught budget.

The authorities volition archetypal people imported smartphones and notebooks, past grow the taxation to their imported components. Government officials ⁠earlier said that the proceeds volition spell to peculiar funds tasked with supporting home producers.

($1 ‌= 80.95 roubles)

(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by ‌Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Conor Humphries)