Ex-US ambassador calls US companies' decision to pay taxes to Russia a disgrace

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul called it a disgrace that American companies paid taxes to the Russian budget to the amount of $1.2 billion, Newsweek reported on January 11.

"According to the B4Ukraine Group and the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) Institute, U.S. firms in Russia paid $1.2 billion in income tax to the country in 2023. <...> This tax contribution makes the United States the largest payer of foreign income taxes to Russia," the magazine informed.

McFaul called "absolutely disgraceful" the decision of 123 major US companies to stay in Russia and comply with local tax laws.

"It is absolutely disgraceful that American companies have decided to stay in Russia and subsidize Russian President Vladimir Putin 's special military operation in Ukraine," he told Newsweek, expressing hope that American companies will reconsider their values.

The magazine noted that in addition to the U.S., the second highest income tax payer in Russia in 2023 was Germany, whose companies paid $693 million in tax to the country. Austria was in third place with $579 million.

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Earlier, on August 19, 2024, Stanislav Radkevich, PhD in political science, described how companies from the United States continue to do business in Russia despite sanctions, strikes on Russian territory with American weapons and Washington's official rhetoric. According to him, Americans not only continue to be present on the Russian market, but also earn a solid income here.