Foreign businesses in Russia paid the Kremlin over $20 billion in taxes in 2024. This would be enough to fund a million new soldiers for the Russian army. Newsweek reports this, writes UNN.
Details
As the publication notes, citing data provided by the B4Ukraine group and the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) Institute. According to them, foreign companies in the Russian Federation paid at least $20 billion in taxes in 2024 alone.
This amount would be enough to pay for the recruitment of a million soldiers into the Russian army at the most expensive rates - such rates are currently in effect in the Kemerovo region of the Russian Federation, where a soldier receives $18.4 thousand for signing a contract.
In total, since 2022, foreign businesses have paid $60 billion in taxes in Russia. This is half of Russia's military budget for 2025.
Among all foreign companies that still have business in Russia, five companies that paid the most taxes to the Russian budget in 2024 have been identified:
- Raiffeisen Bank, financial services (Austria) - $402 million;
- Chery Automobile, car manufacturer (China) - $222 million;
- Philip Morris International, tobacco company (multinational) - $220 million;
- Japan Tobacco International, tobacco company (Japan) - $182 million;
- Leroy Merlin, home and garden retail (France) - $128 million.
The publication requested comments from representatives of Raiffeisen Bank, Chery Automobile, Philip Morris, and Leroy Merlin via email. JTI responded separately, stating that the company operates worldwide regardless of sanctions, and taxes on tobacco products will still be paid in Russia regardless of who owns the company's Russian assets.
TI operates worldwide and continues its production and sales activities in Russia in full compliance with all applicable regulations... We continue to closely monitor legislative developments, as well as the situation on the ground, and review our options.
B4Ukraine and KSE, for their part, stated that the presence of foreign business in the Russian market is not just an economic problem for the G7 and allies, but a direct threat to the economic security of Western countries.
"By making significant tax contributions to Russia's military fund, foreign companies are effectively subsidizing arms purchases and military salaries. Their financial participation directly undermines Ukraine's defense capabilities and contributes to broader regional insecurity," the statement said.