Russia proposes 3% tax on migrants' foreign transfers
Russia's A Just Russia party has proposed a 3% tax on each foreign bank transfer made by migrants, including Uzbek citizens working in Russia.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) – A proposal has been put forth in Russia to implement a 3% tax on all foreign bank transfers made by migrants, as reported by TASS. Sergei Mironov, who chairs the A Just Russia party, advocates for this new levy.
Mironov stated, "A special payment must be established when transferring money abroad," suggesting that foreign nationals should incur a 3% charge on each such transaction. He highlighted that migrants transferred over 17 billion rubles from Russia to other countries in 2026, an amount on which foreign citizens currently pay no tax.
This proposed tax could impact Uzbek citizens working in Russia. Data from Uzbekistan's Agency for Migration, cited by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, indicates that approximately 1.4 million Uzbek citizens are employed across nearly 40 nations. Russia remains the primary destination for Uzbek labor migrants, hosting 834,200 of them.
Other significant destinations for Uzbek workers include Kazakhstan (84,400 citizens), Türkiye (72,100), and South Korea (46,400). Additionally, 258,000 Uzbek citizens work in European countries, with another 97,700 in various other nations.
Amidst this extensive labor migration, substantial funds are remitted to Uzbekistan from abroad. In the first half of 2026 (January-June), remittances to individuals in Uzbekistan reached US$9.3 billion, marking a 13% increase, or US$1.1 billion, compared to the same period in 2025, according to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.
The most notable increases in remittance inflows were observed from the United Kingdom (up 62%), the European Union (up 27%), and the United States (up 19%). Remittances from Ireland surged by 86%, Lithuania by 18%, and the Netherlands by 7%.
In terms of absolute figures, transfers from Kazakhstan grew from US$366 million to US$469 million, while those from the United States increased from US$313 million to US$372 million. Transfers from South Korea rose from US$282 million to US$314 million, and from Türkiye, they climbed from US$266 million to US$303 million.
Transfers from the United Kingdom saw an increase from US$89 million to US$144 million, and those from European Union countries went up from US$251 million to US$319 million.
The majority of these funds, US$4.8 billion (51.7% of the total), were transferred directly to bank cards via the P2P system, representing a 32% increase compared to the first half of 2025.
Traditional international money transfer systems accounted for US$4.3 billion, or 46.7% of total remittances, during January-June, showing a 0.3% increase.
A further US$142 million, or 1.6%, was transferred through the SWIFT banking system, which was a 43% decrease from the previous year.