Russia’s parliament gives preliminary OK to a proposal that increases income taxes for the wealthy

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s parliament has given a preliminary approval to a bill that outlines higher income taxes for Russia’s wealthy elite. The bill, which was passed in the first of three readings in Russia’s lower parliament house, comes as Moscow continues to spend vast amounts of money on the military campaign in Ukraine. The proposal involves a progressive tax on personal income. It envisages imposing a 13% tax for incomes of up to 2.4 million rubles ($27,500) a year. For incomes over that amount, a steadily higher tax rate would apply. The maximum tax would be 22% for annual incomes exceeding 50 million rubles ($573,000). The proposed reform also calls for increasing the company income tax rate from 20% to 25%.