Yakutia proposes tax change for diamond mining

A bill, which proposes amendments to Russia’s Tax Code concerning the payment of taxes on diamond mining, has been approved by the Yakutian regional parliament.

Yakutia’s Finance Ministry drafted the bill, which proposes amending Articles 340 and 342 of the second part of the Tax Code. The authorities are proposing to change the tax base itself.

Diamond mining companies now pay the tax based on the initial assessment of diamonds mined, but the region’s authorities think the tax should be calculated based on the actual realized price of the rough diamonds.

The authors of the bill say that over the past three years the realized price has been 20-30 percent higher than the initial estimate of mined stones. The amendments cold boost tax revenue from diamond mining by tens of millions of dollars next year.

// May 15, 2007

Resource: DiamondIntelligence.com