MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - Inflation in Russia in the first week of the current month was close to zero, a leading presidential economic adviser said Tuesday.
"Inflation during the first week of September was close to zero - about 0.01%," said Arkady Dvorkovich, the head of the Expert Department with the Kremlin administration.
Replying to a reporter's question whether the government annual inflation target of 9% would be met, he said: "We should believe official forecasts."
He also said Russia's unified social security tax could be reduced from 26% to 13-14%.
Unlike the United Kingdom's national insurance scheme, under which individuals pay a part of their income to the government for social security needs, companies pay the tax in Russia.
"The unified social security tax should be cut to a level ensuring basic pension and medical insurance guarantees," Dvorkovich said. "We believe the rate could be cut to about 13-14%."
The presidential adviser also said Russia's value-added tax may be gradually replaced by the sales tax in 2009-2011.
"We are becoming increasingly convinced that we need to phase out this tax [value-added tax] by 2009-2011," Dvorkovich said, adding that VAT should be replaced with the sales tax.
