American firms paid more money to the Russian state in 2023 than in 2022, according to pro-Ukraine activists
American corporations still active in Russia paid $1.2 billion in taxes to the Russian state in 2023, according to figures published by Newsweek on Saturday. More than 300 US firms are believed to still be operating in Russia.
The figures were provided to Newsweek by B4Ukraine, a Kiev-sponsored group of NGOs that has spent the last three years hounding Western companies to cut their ties with Moscow.
According to the group, the five companies that paid the most profit taxes to Russia in 2023 were tobacco company Philip Morris International ($220 million), beverage corporation PepsiCo ($135 million), confectionary company Mars ($99 million), health and hygiene consumer goods firm Procter & Gamble ($67 million), and confectionary company Mondelez.
American companies paid a total of $1.2 billion in taxes to the Russian state in 2023, up from $712 million in 2022, according to an earlier report compiled by B4Ukraine. Their contribution makes the US the largest source of foreign taxes paid in Russia.
Although a flood of Western companies ceased operations in Russia after the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, some 123 large American firms remain, according to research from the Yale School of Management. When small and medium enterprises are taken into account, Yale estimates that around 328 American companies are active in Russia.
Aside from pressure campaigns organized by the likes of B4Ukraine, Western sanctions have played a role in forcing some firms to exit the Russian market. British consumer-goods giant Unilever pulled out of Russia in October, with CEO Hein Schumacher complaining that the company faced difficulties moving cash out of Russia and had experienced issues reviewing financial results and controlling how its brands were managed.
According to divestment rules introduced by the Russian government last year, firms exiting Russia need to obtain government permission for their sale, and are required to sell their assets at a 50% discount and pay an exit tax of between 10% and 15%.
Between February 2022 and December 2023, companies that sold up their Russian operations lost a combined $103 billion, the New York Times reported, citing financial records. These firms also handed over at least $1.25 billion in exit taxes to the Russian state, the newspaper added.
