Success pandemic: the state took pity on the metallurgists who profited from the rise of prices

Victoria Pavlova

The issue of applying additional tax exemptions from the metallurgical industry was not considered during the meeting of the Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov with heads of metallurgical companies Russia, June 1, the press service of the department.

"The issues of additional tax exemptions from the industry were not touched upon during the meeting", - the ministry's press service said in a statement.

The department also outlined the results of the meeting. In particular, industry representatives have declared their readiness to abandon the price increases enshrined in long-term contracts. First of all, we are talking about the supply of enterprises that fulfill the state defense order (SDO). And it's all? - I would like to ask those who were frightened by the authorities' statements about the desire to take away part of the profits received by metallurgists in 2020.

The idea of "take and divide" is far from new, but since the end of last year it has begun to find the most bizarre incarnations. This approach manifested itself especially clearly in the regulation of food prices. For example, all the producers of the same sugar were deprived of their profits by artificially limiting retail prices, but then the money was returned to some of the most fortunate ones - in the form of subsidies. Now it was the turn of the metallurgists. Moreover, at first, Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov did not stand on ceremony and bluntly stated that the increased prices for products for capital construction and the state defense order "pushed" the state by 100 billion rubles last year alone, and that these losses must be compensated through increased taxes.

Entrepreneurs through the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs immediately outraged, demanding to take into account the fact that tax payments also increased last year. At first glance, it is logical: the more expensive the product, the more VAT deductions, and the greater the profit, the more income tax deductions. And then, since January 1, 2021, the MET for iron ores and standard non-ferrous metal ores has grown by 3.5 times. These and other arguments helped entrepreneurs to agree on easing conditions: there will be no tax increase. We just need to freeze prices for government contracts. So who are the metallurgists in the role: a defenseless victim of state tyranny or a predator using a difficult period for the fastest additional profit?

The first half of last year was not easy for metallurgists - the volumes of supplies due to the pandemic, the prospects of which were completely unclear, dropped sharply. It is a fact. But metal prices have also grown very strongly last year. And this applies not only to products on the Russian market. Metal has risen in price throughout the world. It all began in the second half of the year, when China recovered from the coronavirus quarantine and began to make up for lost time, accelerating the production of goods and construction. Demand went up. If in April 2020 a ton of hot-rolled steel cost $ 360-370, then by December it rose to $ 685-700. Naturally, the Russian market is not isolated from the outside world (for now) and reacts to all global trends.

To rely on the numbers, Novye Izvestia selected the top 10 ferrous metallurgy companies in terms of revenue from the RAEX-600 list, and looked at their IFRS profits and losses in the pre-crisis 2019 and crisis 2020. Many will envy such results and "consequences" of the pandemic.

Did you expect to see losses and colossal losses? No, only the Industrial and Metallurgical Holding went into negative territory. All the rest show a profit, and a very good one! The total net profit of 5.5 billion dollars is almost 395.7 billion rubles at the average dollar rate for 2020 of 71.94 rubles. For comparison: Finance Minister Anton Siluanov estimated the social support measures voiced by the president during his April message at 400 billion rubles.

EVRAZ, which is 40% owned by Roman Abramovich, and Dmitry Pumpyansky's Pipe Metallurgical Company, which improved their performance several times, were particularly distinguished. Non-ferrous metallurgy also did not stand aside: last year Norilsk Nickel received $ 3.6 billion (and this is taking into account the fact that they had to pay a $ 2 billion fine for the environmental disaster near Norilsk), and Roman Abramovich's Rusal brought in $ 759 million in net profit... As for taxes, VAT in any case is a burden on consumers' wallet, personal income tax on employee salaries has not changed much - there has been no significant increase in salaries, and income tax rates have not changed.

So the Forbes list indicates that there are no problems for metallurgists during the pandemic, when many businesses were closed and people were left without work and income. So, the first place was taken by the owner of Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Potanin, with a fortune of $ 19.7 billion, the owner of the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant, Vladimir Lisin, took second place with $ 18.1 billion, and Alexey Mordashov, who controls Severstal, has a capital of $ 16.8 billion. - this is the 4th place in the rating. And Roman Abramovich closes the top ten richest people in Russia with a capital of 11.3 billion rubles. It is not very likely that metallurgists are suffering from unbearable taxes and lack of demand for their products, and at least somehow worried about the pandemic. Thanks to the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, they continue to receive super-profits in a wild market. Officials have not raised their taxes, nor have they created tools to stabilize prices for products.

Oilmen, for example, have a special damper designed to limit fluctuations in gasoline prices. The instrument is not perfect, but it still has some effect. However, the government turned out to be more than lenient with regard to metallurgists. Fixing prices on government contracts for the defense industry is certainly good, but housing and dacha construction in Russia - the sphere of private business - will pay for the appetites of metallurgists in full.

In addition, the question arises: why were such orders placed, which later seemed to the state not very reasonable? - asks the famous economist Igor Nikolayev. - It turns out that the principle “the law has no retroactive effect” is no longer valid in our country and in relation to the economy. That is, you can work absolutely in accordance with the law, paying all taxes, but if suddenly it seems to someone that you have earned too much, they can force you to “share” with the state... If the authorities cannot make effective tax decisions in a timely manner, if the system of state orders is still cumbersome and ineffective, if it is precisely because of the decisions of officials that the treasury receives less money, then claims should be made against officials, and not try to replay everything retroactively.

There have already been such initiatives. In 2018, it was proposed to withdraw from Russian companies more than 500 billion rubles from those "super profits" that they received due to changes in the external economic situation. Then, of course, the authorities tried to soften this confiscatory initiative: like, it is just necessary that additional investments were made for this amount.

And here - again, and here - again...