Tax cuts to boost Russian fish industry

The Russian fish industry maintains that state subsidies will be necessary for the development of the industry. By year 2020, the Fishery Agency wants catch to almost double from today’s 3,4 million tons to 6,58 million tons. Head of the Fishery Agency, Andrey Krainy, says more than half of the Russian fishery fleet needs either to be scrapped or modernized. He underlines that the replacement of the vessels will take “endlessly long time” without state support. He is backed by the industry itself, which argues that it from before pays more tax than other industries. According to head of the Russian Catch Association, German Zverev, the fish industry last year paid 140 billion RUB of taxes, which constituted 22,5 percent of the industry’s total incomes. Meanwhile, industry sectors in Russia pays an average of 13 percent taxes. The federal Finance Ministry has already expressed scepticism with the proposals from the fish industry. While the industry wants tax cuts, the Finance Ministry instead plans a tax increase from last year’s 35 billion RUB to 48 billion RUB next year, Rossiiskaya Gazeta reports.