Moscow, 30 October 1997 (RFE/RL) - A senior Russian government official said today the government continues to face problems in tax collection and has been unable to meet budget targets.
First deputy Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin acknowledged the revenue situation had not improved significantly over the last six months and the shortfall was greater than the government had forecast. An official government statement meanwhile said today that tax collection in the first nine months was about 40 percent below the target figure.
Kudrin however said the government could meet the full-year budget figures by boosting non-tax revenues, mostly from custom's revenues and privatization of state enterprises.
Kudrin's statement comes as a visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation continues its assessment of the Russian governments fiscal performance. The IMF has made tax collection a key demand for releasing further installments of a $10 billion three-year loan to Russia.
First deputy Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin acknowledged the revenue situation had not improved significantly over the last six months and the shortfall was greater than the government had forecast. An official government statement meanwhile said today that tax collection in the first nine months was about 40 percent below the target figure.
Kudrin however said the government could meet the full-year budget figures by boosting non-tax revenues, mostly from custom's revenues and privatization of state enterprises.
Kudrin's statement comes as a visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation continues its assessment of the Russian governments fiscal performance. The IMF has made tax collection a key demand for releasing further installments of a $10 billion three-year loan to Russia.