Foreign firms' 'exit tax' to Russia contributed $385 million so far in 2024

Russia has steadily tightened exit requirements for departing companies, demanding approval from a government commission, a 50% discount on any sale and a contribution to the federal budget of at least 10% of the sale price, dubbed an "exit tax" by Washington.

Moscow: Foreign companies leaving Russia have made exit contributions to the Russian budget of 35.7 billion roubles ($385 million) so far this year, online budget data showed, already surpassing full-year expectations.

Russia has steadily tightened exit requirements for departing companies, demanding approval from a government commission, a 50 per cent discount on any sale and a contribution to the federal budget of at least 10 per cent of the sale price, dubbed an "exit tax" by Washington.

Reuters reported last year that some foreign companies trying to exit Russia were facing a big jump in costs as Moscow demanded bigger discounts.

Russia's RBC daily first reported the data on Wednesday, noting that increases in the budget contribution rate have raised costs for departing businesses.

The central bank said that Russian banks had lent 500 billion roubles ($5.4 billion) for transactions enabling foreign companies to exit the market at the end of 2023. ($1 = 92.6200 roubles)