Chukotka hunters receive tax incentives
© RIA Novosti. Vladimir Astapkovich

Chukotka hunters receive tax incentives

The Government of the Russian Federation has amended its program to provide state support for the traditional economic activities of indigenous Arctic ethnic groups. The amendments expand the application of the 6 percent flat agriculture tax for sea-hunting industry organizations that harvest marine mammals and turn out the related products. This will reduce the financial burden on producers. 

“Today, nine indigenous Arctic ethnic groups with over 200 employees hunt marine mammals in Chukotka. The hunting of marine mammals is an important aspect of life in the region’s coastal villages. This is the main element of their diet and of preserving their traditional culture and values,” Yelena Yevtyukhova, a State Duma Deputy from the Chukotka Autonomous Area, noted.

This state program was designed to subsidize hunters and fishermen, to provide them with equipment and technology, to reimburse them for part of their heat and electricity expenses, to subsidize working conditions’ assessment expenses, to finance technical teaching aids, research projects and the epizootic monitoring of marine mammal diseases. One of the program’s goals was to expand production capacity in communities that hunt marine mammals.

The amendments also deal with deadlines for listing the products of sea-hunting industry among other agricultural products and primary products obtained from the communities’ own agricultural feedstock. These deadlines have been postponed from 2022 to 2023.