Rosneft oil project granted tax break as Russian parliament approves hikes

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vostok Oil, Russian oil major Rosneft's flagship project, was granted a tax break as lawmakers moved to approve sweeping tax hikes on Tuesday that will raise Moscow's budget revenues by around $30 billion next year.

A new progressive income tax, higher corporate tax, increased taxation of small businesses and other initiatives are expected to bring an extra 2.6 trillion roubles ($29.61 billion) to the treasury next year, and 8.1 trillion roubles over the next three years.

The Vostok Oil project, which is expected to produce up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2030, mostly for export to Asia, was exempted from the highest 25% rate of corporate tax, with its tax rate to remain at 20%.

The proposed hikes should allow Moscow to ratchet up spending, including on its war in Ukraine, without compromising fiscal stability, analysts have said.

Lawmakers in the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, approved the measures in the second of three readings. The bill's final reading, as well as its passage through the upper chamber and signing by President Vladimir Putin are usually formalities.

($1 = 87.7955 roubles)

(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Rod Nickel)