Moscow, Jan 1 (NationPress) A new tourist tax has been implemented across Russia as of Wednesday, superseding the earlier resort fee, according to local media reports.
Starting from January 1, 2025, visitors staying in hotels and other types of accommodations will be required to pay an additional 1 percent of their lodging expenses. This tax marks the initiation of a gradual plan aimed at enhancing regional tourism infrastructure, as reported by Xinhua, referencing RIA Novosti news agency.
This tax was introduced as part of changes to the Russian Tax Code in July 2024, which established a new section titled "Tourist Tax," allowing regional authorities the authority to implement the tax as a local charge. Numerous regions, especially those with developed or growing tourism sectors, have already adopted this measure.
According to the present regulations, the tourist tax will start at a rate of 1 percent in 2025 and is expected to gradually increase to 3 percent by 2027. To establish a minimum contribution, a daily base rate of 100 rubles (approximately 0.9 US dollars) has been set.
Although hotels and other lodging establishments are technically the taxpayers, this cost will be included in the overall price of accommodations, thereby being transferred to tourists.
In addition, Russia has officially removed export duties on anthracite, coking coal, and thermal coal effective January 1, 2025, as reported by local media on Wednesday.
The flexible export duties, which were introduced on October 1, 2023, were scheduled to remain in effect until the end of 2024. However, duties on anthracite and thermal coal were temporarily lifted between May 1 and November 30, 2024.
In November 2024, the Russian government made the decision to eliminate the export duty on coking coal ahead of schedule and extended the suspension of duties on anthracite and thermal coal to support the coal sector.
