Ministry of Finance Denies Candy Excise Proposal

The Russian Ministry of Finance is not preparing nor proposing initiatives to introduce an excise tax on candies, Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Sazanov assured.

Consensus

The Russian Ministry of Finance did not propose or prepare any initiative to introduce an excise tax on candies.
Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Sazanov made the statement denying the proposal.
The claim about the excise tax on candies was reported by RBK as part of discussions at the 'Business Russia' forum.
The Ministry of Finance also denied proposing to remove the reduced VAT rate on sugar.

Points of divergence

The chocolate market in Russia has been declining for two consecutive years, with sales volume dropping by 15% in 2025, while revenue increased by 14%. — vedomosti
The excise tax on sugary drinks, currently at 11 rubles per liter since 2023, may increase to 12 rubles by 2027, with projected budget revenues from this tax rising to 30.095 billion rubles by 2029. — interfax

Coverage (4 sources)

Sazanov: The Ministry of Finance did not propose a tax on candy — Ведомости
Ministry of Finance does not plan to propose introducing a tax on candies — Интерфакс
Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation stated that it did not propose introducing an excise tax on candies — Вести
Russian Ministry of Finance did not propose introducing a tax on candies, said statistical secretary — Deputy Finance Minister Russia Alexey Sazanov. — ТАСС (Telegram)

Key entities

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