The Russian government is preparing a national version of the carbon tax. In this way the authorities seek to get ahead of the European Union (EU) with the development of regulation and achieve offsetting payments for CO2 emissions in Russia by the European system of carbon control, found out "Vedomosti".

A source close to the government told Vedomosti that the Russian authorities and businesses are not interested in the EU levying the tax "at its own discretion". A representative of the United Metallurgical Company (OMK) stressed that it would be better to pay taxes to the Russian budget on condition that "these payments would be exempt from cross-border tax".

Now the government is discussing three formats for the implementation of the Russian version of the carbon tax, another federal official confirmed to the publication. In the first case - the business will pay a levy at a specified rate for exceeding the threshold values for emissions, the second involves the introduction of trading in emission quotas, the third option represents a combination of these two options, he explained. At the same time, it is not yet clear who will pay the carbon tax - only exporters, who are required to be protected from the EU tax, or other market participants.

Recall that by 2026, the EU plans to introduce a fee, the so-called "carbon tax" on imports of certain goods whose production required high emissions of CO2. From 2023 to 2025 there will be a transition period in which importers will have to report quarterly the actual emissions associated with goods imported into the EU and any payments for carbon emissions abroad. Experts estimate the tax could affect about 40% of Russia's exports and impose a cost of EUR 1-2 billion a year.

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Author: Karina Kamalova