Russia may double taxes on 'working from home' draft dodgers

Kremlin propaganda portrays Russian men who fled abroad as selfish cowards compared to «real men». who signed Photo: Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images

Russian MPs want to more than double the tax rate for people working remotely, in what appears to be another move by the Kremlin to keep people from fleeing the mobilization.

The proposed increase in income tax for remote workers in Russia from 13% to 30% is the result of speculation about another mobilization.

It seems that the income tax increase is also aimed at Russia&#39. once valuable IT sector.

The Moscow newspaper Vedomosti reported that the changes would affect people who «work abroad but continue to use the Russian Internet or equipment or software located in Russia.»

Russian officials are seeking to tighten the measures. their mobilization process after last fall, when hundreds of thousands fled abroad to avoid being included in the country's first mobilization since World War II.

Earlier this month, the Russian parliament voted to allow mobilization orders to be served by email, not just on paper, which was easy to ignore.

During the Kremlin mobilization in September, 320,000 people were mobilized, many of whom were sent directly to the front. front line with little training or workable equipment.

Many fled the Order, mostly to neighboring Kazakhstan, Georgia or Armenia.

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Cafes in Tbilisi, Yerevan and Almaty were filled with young Russians banging on the keys, they continued to work remotely with companies in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

In the Kazakh city of Uralsk, close to the Russian Siberian border, IT professionals told The Telegraph how they evaded Vladimir Putin's war draft in Ukraine and worked remotely for a Russian company.

The Kremlin's propaganda machine portrays Russian men who fled abroad, selfish cowards who should be punished, compared to «real men» who signed up to fight an enemy that is said to be threatening to destroy the country.

One MP proposed to confiscate people's property who fled from Russia to avoid mobilization. Another said the Kremlin should “make the experience of being abroad less comfortable” for Russian workers.

Without money and away from home, thousands of young people who fled Russia last year have returned, but many thousands returned and stayed abroad.

Reports from Armenia say that its IT sector has received a significant boost, rents have skyrocketed, and the influx of Russian money into its economy has boosted the value of its dram.