"Taking into account the endorsed severance tax for the gas industry for next year, a 23% increase in gas prices will on the whole make up for the increased tax burden," the company's spokesman told RIA Novosti, when commenting on the Russian Economic Development Ministry's proposal to raise the ceiling for gas tariffs next year by 3%.
Earlier the government had endorsed the ceiling for gas tariffs at 20%.
Russian Economic Development Minister German Gref has announced that his ministry will propose to fix the ceiling at 23% when discussing forecasts of Russia's economic development in 2005.
"A decision will be offered, including price forecasts on products of natural monopolies," he said.
If the tax burden on the extractive industries is increased, Gazprom will advocate raising the ceiling to 25% in 2005, Alexander Ryazanov, the company's deputy chairman of the board, announced.
In the spring the government decided to raise oil export duties and the severance tax. The duties were to grow from the middle of this year, the tax from 2005.
The severance tax is to be raised for oil from 400 to 419 roubles per ton, for natural gas from 107 to 135 roubles per 1,000 cu m.
A reason for the decision is abolition of the VAT on oil and gas exports to the CIS member states. On Thursday the State Duma adopted the government's bill on abolishing VAT deductions for oil and gas on countries of destination.
At the first stage in 2005 the federal budget will lose some 36 bln roubles, said Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov, who introduced the bill to the State Duma. At the same time, most of these losses will be compensated by increased severance tax on oil and gas.
"The currently high global oil prices allow somewhat increasing the tax burden on the industry without any significant damage," he pointed out.
Losses in the budget are to be compensated by an increase in the severance tax, distributing the burden between the federal budget (9 bln roubles), the oil and gas industries.
