MOSCOW, November 23 (RIA Novosti) - The head of Russia's Central Bank said Thursday he is skeptical about the idea of replacing the value added tax (VAT) with a sales tax.
The economics ministry earlier said the value added tax could gradually be replaced by the sales tax in 2009-2011 because the VAT refund on export operations involved a complicated procedure.
"I am skeptical about the replacement of VAT with the sales tax," Sergei Ignatyev told a government meeting Thursday, adding that a new tax would involve no fewer problems with administration.
A government source said before the government session that the issue of VAT replacement was not currently under consideration. The finance and economics ministries hold the opinion that the value added tax has potential for improvement in its administration and, therefore, it is inexpedient to think about its replacement, the source said.
