In Russia, another three years of military and reconstruction allocations
Russia is not preparing for peace as the allocations for the next three years are “necessary to ensure victory,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov summarized, while there are clear signs of fatigue from Western countries, starting with the political one and political development of the United States economic to continue assistance to Ukraine. The budget forecast for 2024-2026, approved by both houses of parliament and awaiting Vladimir Putin’s signature, is the most secret ever published, with almost 27 percent of spending (compared to 18 percent in 2022 and 15). percent in 2021). and is the one in which the expenditure allocated to the national defense sector (the equivalent of 120.8 billion dollars, 10.7 trillion rubles) far exceeds social expenditure (84.7 billion dollars), which also includes other items of a military nature, such as health costs for soldiers wounded at the front. Secret spending remains the highest ever approved, even though the various readings in the Duma approved the transfer of $79 billion from the secret department to the open department. To cope with the increase in military spending, the Russian Finance Ministry will bring in the equivalent of $395 billion in taxes, 22 percent more than this year. And this will be possible through new export tariffs, through improving tax collection and excise duties on tobacco and alcohol or “from other sources,” as Siluanov said during the debate in the Duma, without naming anything else that is not difficult in an increase of taxes for citizens and companies. The Court of Auditors estimates the possible deficit at 1.3 billion in 2024, 1.5 billion in 2015 and 1.7 billion in 2026. But it could get much worse, according to forecasts by private analysts. Companies are preparing to cut profits. The only thing they ask of the Kremlin – as emerged at the recent meeting between Putin and the leaders of the productive world late last night at his residence on the outskirts of Moscow – is predictability. The three-year budget also includes funds for the reconstruction of the four Ukrainian territories annexed last year. And during the parliamentary debate, writes the independent news site Meduza, these funds were increased. For 2024, several hundred million dollars were added to the original $2.6 billion. The items in this expenditure chapter are the reconstruction of civilian houses destroyed or damaged by the fighting ($271.9 million), the development of the coal sector in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions ($25 million) and the recapitalization of the industrial development fund, more than 44 million . At the initiative of the deputies, it was indexed to the salaries of employees of security agencies, which remained untouched in the original version of the text.