MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Amendments to the Russian Tax Code raising the value-added tax (VAT) rate from 20% to 22% generated an additional 426 bln rubles ($5.36 bln) for the Russian budget in the first half of this year, Head of the Russian Federal Tax Service Daniil Yegorov said at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

"Speaking about the amendments to the Tax Code and the taxation system regarding the value-added tax rate, the increase in the rate from 20% to 22% has already generated an additional 426 bln rubles ($5.36 bln). Forecasts suggesting that revenues might come in lower have not materialized. Collections are proceeding exactly as planned by the Finance Ministry," Yegorov said.

According to him, revenues from both insurance contributions and personal income tax are showing steady growth of 13%. "This is not so much about the tax itself as it is about the tax base. It is income growth that is driving this increase. So here, too, we see that everything remains stable," Yegorov emphasized.