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20 April 2007, 14:32Russian Orthodox Church calls to tax luxuries in Russia
Moscow, April 20, Interfax - A progressive tax and taxation of luxuries and real estate may reduce the huge social gap between classes in Russia, the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad opines.
‘We need a progressive system (of taxation - IF), yet it should apply to really rich people’s incomes. It must not harm our middle class, which is still emerging,’ Metropolitan Kirill told Izvestia daily in his interview published on Friday.
It Russia attempts to set up too high taxes, as for instance in Norway where the rich give to the state 80-90 percent of their income, will lead to nothing since no one will pay these taxes, he noted.
The metropolitan said that according to various estimations the Russian wealthy were from 15 to 30 times richer than the Russian poor, and some suggested that the GDP increase will give five rubles to the average poor person and 200 rubles to the average rich one.
‘If a forty times GDP increase gives more to the rich than to the poor, it means something is wrong with our economy. Should not the Church say: Come on, that won’t do?’ he noted.
Another important step to end poverty in Russia is not to tax the poor people whose incomes do not exceed the minimal subsistence wage, Kirill said.
No less important decision, he said, would be to set up a luxury tax in Russia. It our capital city ‘there are more Rolls-Royces, Maybachs, Lamborghinis, and Ferraris than elsewhere in the world,’ Kirill noted.
‘If somebody pays $580,000 for his Maybach and even more enjoys himself decorating its leather seats with gold and diamonds, we should simply help such a person to share some his money with the poor,’ Metropolitan Kirill opined.
He also proposed a real estate tax, though he said it must be fixed to the immovable property’s market value and is possible only if ‘the real estate bought on a market price.’ |
