Russian law enforcement guard the Red Square near the Kremlin on June 24, 2023 in Moscow, Russia, amid the Wagner Group's ongoing armed rebellion in Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)
A Russian ‘exit tax’ on foreign companies leaving the country has netted the Kremlin $385 million since the start of 2024, already surpassing predictions for the full year, Reuters reported on March 20.
After the launch of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia saw an exodus of Western companies reluctant to contribute to the country’s economy and therefore the war effort.
While the Kremlin could do little to stop them leaving, it imposed stricter exit requirements, including approval from a special government commission, a 50% discount on sales, and an “exit tax” worth at least 10% of the sale.
The total taken so far in 2024 exceeds the Kremlin’s budget plan for the entire year by 17 times, Bloomberg reported.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
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