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  • Putin forced to raise taxes again as Ukraine war drains finances

    09/25/2025 8:16:46 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 41 replies
    Politico EU ^ | 9/24/2025 | GEOFFREY SMITH
    After three and a half years, President Vladimir Putin is having to lean more and more on ordinary Russians to pay for his war in Ukraine. The Russian Finance Ministry on Wednesday said it intends to raise value added tax by two percentage points to 22 percent, part of a three-year plan that aims to plug a rapidly expanding hole in public finances. VAT accounted for more than 15 percent of total government revenue last year. After raising personal income taxes sharply at the start of the year, Putin had pledged there would be no more big changes to the...