Russia approves budget with $54.6 billion deficit: taxes rise, economy slows – intelligence
Kyiv • UNN
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reports that the Russian government has approved a draft federal budget for 2026–2028 with a record deficit of $54.6 billion. The Russian Ministry of Finance proposes to increase VAT to 22% and lower the threshold for the "simplified tax system" to cover the lack of resources.
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reports that the Russian government has approved the draft federal budget for 2026–2028 with a record deficit of $54.6 billion. Despite the Kremlin's plans to increase the share of non-oil and gas revenues to 78%, economic growth is projected at only 1.3%. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, writes UNN.
Details
To cover the lack of resources, the Russian Ministry of Finance proposed a number of unpopular steps, for example, increasing VAT to 22%, lowering the threshold for the "simplified system" from $717 thousand to $120 thousand, and also canceling preferential insurance rates for small and medium-sized businesses.
At the same time, according to Ukrainian intelligence, the budget includes large-scale program expenditures: financing of the so-called "national projects" until 2030 is estimated at $492 billion (2.6 times more than in 2020–2025), another $120 billion is promised to be allocated to demographic initiatives and education development.
However, intelligence points to an obvious contradiction: ambitious promises are voiced against the backdrop of falling oil and gas revenues (up to 22% of all revenues) and the actual loss of financial stability. The expansion of the deficit and tax increases are seen as a sign of a structural crisis and an attempt by the Russian authorities to mobilize the last available resources.