Putin signs bill increasing income taxes for Russia's wealthy

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday endorsed a bill that raises income taxes for the rich, part of efforts to help fill government coff...

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday endorsed a bill that raises income taxes for the rich, part of efforts to help fill government coffers during the fighting in Ukraine.

Putin signed the bill into law two days after it was approved by both houses of parliament.

The legislation, which envisages a progressive tax on personal income, is a major change from the flat-rate tax that was widely credited with improving revenue collections after it was introduced in 2001.

The new law imposes a 13% tax for incomes of up to 2.4 million rubles ($27,500) a year. For incomes over that amount, a steadily higher tax rate would apply, with the maximum rate of 22% for incomes exceeding 50 million rubles ($573,000).

Putin has said that the tax increase would affect no more than 3.2% of Russia’s taxpayers. The bill also calls for an increase in the company income tax rate from 20% to 25%.