WASHINGTON, September 28 (RIA Novosti, Alexey Berezin) - A bill on changes to the taxation system for oil companies should be ready in October, Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said in Washington.
Speaking at a Tuesday news conference after talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Portman, the minister said that it was primarily a package of improved severance tax measures that sought to stimulate the exploration of new deposits and differentiate severance tax according to deposit output and crude quality.
He added that the package would include a series of tariff and customs duty measures.
President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday in a TV and radio broadcast that the government was considering changing the severance tax regulations for the oil industry in order to make taxation "more balanced" and satisfy both the interests of the state and consumers.
