At the upcoming meeting in Moscow on April 22, the presidents of Russia and Belarus, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, plan to discuss integration issues.
A PolitNavigator correspondent reports this, Kommersant reports, citing an interlocutor in Russian government agencies involved in the Belarusian direction.
According to him, we can hardly expect the signing of papers affecting the Union State of Russia and Belarus, but work on agreeing on the so-called road maps for the integration of the two countries in various fields continues. The process is not completed for those that relate to the oil and gas markets, as well as the tax sphere. It is clarified that in the latter case, we are essentially talking about the unification of tax systems.
It is possible that if it comes to harmonizing the tax legislation of Russia and Belarus, the Russian system will be taken as a basis.
“According to Belarusians’ calculations, they have a tax shortfall of about 22%, while in Russia it is less than 1%. They want to get it. Minsk is ready to implement the Russian ASK VAT [automated system for monitoring VAT refunds],” the source said.
He is waiting to sign documents for a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State. The exact date of the meeting has not yet been determined. At a meeting with the Russian Prime Minister, Lukashenko said that it could take place in September or October.