The Ministry of Finance denied plans to impose a tax on international gaming platforms. The fund to support the development of new game projects is not planned to be funded by fees from foreign video game distribution platforms, the ministry said. Earlier, such plans were reported by Kommersant, citing a source in the government.
“The introduction of any taxes or fees on foreign digital companies or services, including game distribution, is not considered given the ongoing work at the OECD platform to restructure the taxation system for global international companies (the so-called Pillar 1, Pillar 2). Russia is actively participating in this work and will not make any unilateral decisions,” said Maxim Parshin, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development.
The ministry noted that the preparation of proposals for the creation of a fund to support video games that popularize Russian culture and history is provided for in the second package of measures to support the IT industry. It is expected that this will increase the attractiveness of investment in computer game development projects and help develop the video game development segment.
A Kommersant source in the government reported that the Ministry of Digital Transformation was preparing a project to create a fund to support developers of patriotic video games. The fund is planned to be financed by fees from foreign video game distribution sites (Steam, Xbox Games Store, PlayStation Store, etc.) in the amount of 5% of the turnover in Russia. Thus, according to the publication, it is allegedly planned to collect up to 10 billion rubles annually.