30 Percent of Russians Are Poor
Monday, 19 October 1998
M O S C O W (AP)
LIVING STANDARDS in Russia are falling even faster than previously
believed with almost one in three people now living in poverty, according
to discouraging figures released Monday.
More than 44 million of Russia's 148 million people live below the poverty
line, defined here as less than $32 a month, and 8.4 million are without
jobs. And the numbers are likely to climb unless the government comes to
grips with the two-month-old economic crisis.
Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov's Cabinet was scheduled Tuesday to
discuss its budget for the rest of the year, but it has few resources to work
with. It is still drafting an economic program to combat the crisis.
An International Monetary Fund delegation was en route to Moscow to
negotiate the next disbursement of a $22.6 billion bailout package frozen
when the crisis hit in mid-August. First Deputy Prime Minister Yuri
Maslyukov said the government was also holding loan talks with Germany
and Japan.
The State Statistics Committee said Monday that the number of Russians
who live below the poverty line is up more than 40 percent from last year.
It said that 11.5 percent of the workforce was unemployed at the start of
October, an increase of 41,000 people in just one month.
The Interfax news agency said the true impact of the economic crisis has
yet to appear in jobless figures because Russian law requires a two-month
notice of layoffs.
In other grim news, the Russian currency tumbled again, dropping to 17.1
rubles to the dollar Monday, down from 15.5 rubles on Friday. The ruble
was at about six to the dollar before it collapsed in August.
There was at least one piece of good news Monday: Tax collections
appear to be rising this month after falling in the aftermath of the crisis, tax
chief Georgy Boos said.
The government has been unable to meet its tax collection goals for years,
and the economic turmoil has crippled Russia's banking system and made
matters worse.
The government collected $700 million in taxes in August, but only $543
million last month. Tax collection is picking up this month, Boos said,
without giving any figures.
The new government has said it wants to streamline the country's unwieldy
tax system and lower some taxes to encourage more people to pay.
But in its quest for more money, the government is showing an inclination
to introduce new taxes and raise existing ones.
Boos said Monday that the government plans to introduce a 10 percent
sales tax on some categories of goods, which he didn't specify. The
government has previously allowed regional authorities to independently
impose sales taxes of up to 5 percent. |
