-Putin announces economic proposals ahead of constitutional vote
Russia is preparing to vote on a constitutional amendment on July 1, which may extend the term of Russian President Vladimir Putin after 2024.
In the run-up to the amendment, the Russian president set out his proposals for the Russian economy, which is undergoing hardship due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) measures and the drop in oil prices.
Highlighting that unemployment has increased in Russia due to the Covid-19 epidemic, Putin said, 'Now we need to give back people their jobs. We must be able to restore the labor market by 2021.'
He said that families would be paid 10 thousand rubles per child while “payments to doctors and health professionals have been extended for another 2 months.'
Putin also announced that income tax applied to those who earn more than 5 million rubles per year would increase from 13% to 15% from January 2021.
However, he promised large tax cuts for IT companies operating in Russia. 'The income tax of IT companies will be reduced from 20% to 3%. These conditions will be better for the IT sector than countries such as India or Ireland.'
The Russian Central Bank predicts that the country's economy will shrink between 4% and 6% this year.
Analysts warn that the number of real unemployed in Russia is around 10 million, and this figure could rise to 20 million by the end of the year.
If the majority of voters rule in favor of the public vote on constitutional amendments on July 1, Putin can then run as a presidential candidate again in the 2024 elections.