Russia may introduce tax on Uzbek migrants’ remittances

Russia has proposed introducing a 3% tax on remittances sent by migrants to their home countries, according to Sergey Mironov, head of the "Just Russia — For Truth" faction in the Russian State Duma. He announced the proposal on his Telegram channel.

Mironov stated that if the tax were applied to money transfers from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan alone, the Russian budget could generate 45 billion rubles ($500 million) annually.

“We are talking about huge sums. Even if we only consider funds sent from Russia to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, this tax could contribute 45 billion rubles to the budget each year,” he said.

He also noted that foreign workers transfer around $25 billion out of Russia annually, describing them as “irreplaceable specialists” whose earnings do not contribute to Russia’s economic growth.

Mironov said over $14 billion was sent from Russia to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan last year. Meanwhile, Tajik migrants transferred approximately $5.7 billion. He argued that these remittances do not benefit Russia but instead fuel economic development in migrants' home countries.

In response, Mironov plans to draft a legislative proposal and submit it to the State Duma for consideration.

It is worth recalling that in 2021, Alisher Kadyrov, leader of Uzbekistan’s "Milliy Tiklanish" democratic party and a former presidential candidate, proposed taxing Uzbek citizens working abroad. At the time, he emphasized that taxation plays a crucial role in the country’s development.