OREANDA-NEWS  At a meeting on Tuesday, the State Duma adopted in the second reading a bill on the introduction of a new chapter on the tourist tax into the Tax Code (NC) of the Russian Federation.

The amendment was introduced by the Government to the System Tax Bill (N639663-8).

It is assumed that the tax will be put into effect and cease to operate in accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and regulatory legal acts of representative bodies of municipalities, in cities of federal significance (Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sevastopol) - the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

The object of taxation is the provision of services for the provision of places for temporary residence in accommodation facilities owned by the taxpayer on the right of ownership or on another legal basis, located on the territory of a municipality (as well as on the territories of the federal cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sevastopol, the federal territory of Sirius) and classified accommodation facilities included in the register. The payers of the tax will be organizations and individuals providing such services.

The tax base is defined as the cost of the service, excluding the amounts of tax and VAT. The tax will not be levied when providing services to a number of categories of citizens, including, in particular, heroes of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, heroes of labor, participants and invalids of the Great Patriotic War, participants in a special military operation; veterans and invalids of military operations and others. Tax rates are set in amounts not exceeding 1% in 2025, 2% in 2026, 3% in 2027, 4% in 2028, and 5% of the tax base starting in 2029. "Tax rates can be differentiated taking into account seasonality and (or) the category of the accommodation facility," the amendments say. The tax period for the tax is recognized as a quarter.

"This is the marginal rate, municipalities, based on their understanding of the situation in their territories, can set any rate within its limit," Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov explained earlier.

The tax will have to be paid to the budget at the location of the hotel no later than the 28th day of the month following the tax period.

At the same time, amendments to the Budget Code are under consideration in the State Duma, which propose to transfer this tax to the revenues of local budgets (urban settlements, municipal districts, urban districts).

The bill is scheduled to be considered in the third reading at the plenary session on July 10.

Currently, there is a resort fee in the Russian Federation, it can be collected in St. Petersburg, the Republic of Crimea, Altai, Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories, as well as in the Sirius federal territory located within the latter. The experiment was launched in 2018, initially its validity period was limited to December 31, 2022, but then it was extended for two years and expires on December 31, 2024.