Russia's Far East and Siberian regions need a special tax regime in order to catch up with the rest of the country, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.
"I'm convinced the Far East and Siberia won't catch up without creation of a differential tax regime, even though, frankly speaking, many of our economic authorities don't much like the idea," Medvedev said at a meeting with the Federation Council, Russia's upper chamber of parliament.
"We need to gather our courage and create different tax and property regimes, which will be a tricky thing and cause arguments within government and frankly speaking between the regions at different levels," he said.
Russian specialists want more than just a piece of land, as was the case years ago, he said, and while foreigners might be interested in just land, "our people, our specialists, our business, should have some concrete tangible advantages."
Medvedev said it was time to look again at creation of a fund or company to facilitate investment in the Far East.
"I think we need to return to this idea, because although there are management structures, they are far away and are not inclined to send money far away. Secondly, in many cases, we don't need the retarding influence of the government on this process," he said.
The government will soon begin activity within a range of state structures to encourage development in the Far East in the near future, Medvedev added.
