Page 63 - RusRPTDec23

Spending should reach RUB36.6 trillion in 2024, RUB34.4 trillion in 2025, and RUB35.6 trillion in 2026.
Budget deficit will stand at 0.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, 0.4% of GDP in 2025, and at 0.8% of GDP in 2026.
The Federal Treasury has improved the outlook on budget deficit in January–September to 1.45 trillion rubles from the Finance Ministry’s estimate of 1.699 trillion rubles, it said on November 7. The income was estimated at 19.734 trillion rubles unchanged as compared with the ministry's estimate, while the spending outlook decreased by 248bn rubles to 21.184 trillion rubles.
Russia uses Western sanctions to obtain excess profits from the sale of oil.Tax revenues from oil and gas to the Russian budget in October increased by more than 100% compared to September and more than 25% compared to October last year, reported the WSJ. This is a sharp turnaround from the start of the year, when energy revenues fell. The price cap, introduced last December, was supposed to achieve a dual goal: to ensure the flow of Russian oil to world markets, thereby keeping gasoline prices at a low level while at the same time reducing the Russian Federation's income from each barrel sold. But after the sanctions initially worked largely as expected, Russian energy companies found ways around them by transporting oil using a fleet of aging tankers. Since most Russian oil trade now takes place outside allied jurisdictions, they are discussing ways to make it more expensive for Russia to build up and operate the flotilla of vessels it uses to circumvent sanctions.
63 RUSSIA Country Report December 2023 www.intellinews.com