Tax Burden of Russian Oil Companies after Tax Consolidation

Abstract

This article takes studying the impact of tax consolidation on oil companies' tax burden as its focus. Oil companies are crucial for the Russian economy while oil and gas money are as well important for the Russian budget. Besides, a lot of oil companies being major taxpayers have had the opportunity to consolidate corporate profit tax since 2012. The article's goal is to analyze the results of creating consolidated groups of taxpayers for tax burden in terms of corporate profit tax exemplified by oil companies in order to assess the importance of profit tax consolidation as a way of reducing corporate profit tax. Upon analyzing the data provided by the Federal Tax Service of Russia and 2010-2015 oil companies' financial reports, it is possible to conclude that the largest tax burden falls on fossil fuel industry in comparison with other industries what can be explained first of all by the mineral extraction tax. Corporate profit tax burden for most oil companies in 2014 accounted for 5% of revenue. At the same time, profit tax burdens on consolidated groups of taxpayers producing oil vary a lot; in 2012, the general trend was falling, but then it started to grow again. Thus, it is impossible to state that tax obligations and corporate profit tax burden have significantly decreased as a result of creating consolidated groups of taxpayers for oil producers. Quantitative analysis of money spent for paying the profit tax might be interestingfor describing consequences of creating consolidated groups of taxpayers.