Payment rejected: Treasury loses 1.5 trillion due to inefficient subsidies and government programs

The budget is losing 1.5 trillion rubles due to inefficient subsidies and government programs. For example, we are talking about spending in agriculture and industry, according to an article by experts from Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. Economists have proposed measures that will allow the Ministry of Finance to close the entire treasury deficit — they will save 4-5 trillion rubles. It is necessary to remove subsidies, which almost do not help the development of the economy, and optimize government programs. What else is needed to make the budget surplus without harming the economy is in the Izvestia article.

How much does the budget lose on inefficient subsidies

In Russia, budget expenditures should be optimized — this is necessary in the context of sanctions pressure and solving economic priorities. This is stated in an article by experts from Plekhanov Russian University of Economics and the Financial University, published in the Financial Journal of the NIFI of the Ministry of Finance (Izvestia has it).

Photo: IZVESTIA/Anna Selina

The authors propose a number of measures:

— reduction of inefficient treasury subsidies (up to 0.5 trillion rubles), primarily about industrial and agricultural benefits;

— optimization of tax benefits (0.4–0.6 trillion);

— revision of government programs (savings potential — 0.7–1.0 trillion), about 15% of them show poor performance at high cost;

— optimization of public procurement (0.3–0.5 trillion);

— development of public-private partnership mechanisms (up to 1.5–2 trillion);

— stimulating the reinvestment of profits by corporations through tax mechanisms (potential — 0.8–1.2 trillion);

— expansion of taxation of digital services (0.2–0.3 trillion);

— improvement of state assets management mechanisms (0.5–0.7 trillion).

According to the authors, the comprehensive implementation of all these initiatives can generate up to 4-5 trillion rubles without a significant increase in the tax burden. This is comparable to the budget deficit, which amounted to 4.19 trillion in January–August 2025.

Photo: IZVESTIA/78 TV channel

For example, the first point will help to reduce inefficient spending of the treasury. These are low-impact subsidies that duplicate tax benefits or have weak targeting, Mikhail Kosov, one of the authors of the article, head of the Department of State and Municipal Finance at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, explained to Izvestia.

For example, in the agro—industrial complex, there is a refund of part of the interest rate on short-term loans, subsidies for capital investments and technical re-equipment, he said. It is in these blocks that there are often intersections with other tools. In addition, these measures do little to help economic development. Also, according to Mikhail Kosov, this concerns the compensation of electricity tariffs for energy-intensive industries.

Major reboot: regions will receive subsidies for the completion of unfinished buildings

The Ministry of Construction has already started accepting applications for state support

"We are talking about a massive audit of support units with a low "effect—on-ruble" in industry and agriculture, where in practice the largest subsidies and the greatest savings potential are concentrated," he said.

In 2025, there are 51 state programs in force in the Russian Federation. They account for about 26 trillion rubles. It is possible to save money by reducing or replacing ineffective measures within large programs, Mikhail Kosov noted. According to him, it is necessary to tighten KPIs and verification of results.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Evgeny Pavlov

For example, we are talking about the transport system (investment measures with prolonged deadlines and changes in parameters), scientific and technological development, as well as individual projects in housing and communal services and the urban environment, where audits most often record incomplete achievement of the final effects.

For example, this year the Accounting Chamber found inefficient expenses for the creation of energy facilities in Crimea by almost 130 million rubles, as well as for the elimination of digital inequality in Russia. In addition, as Izvestia wrote, the auditors found that the regions were inefficiently spending budget loans on infrastructure.

How the authorities reduce the cost of benefits

The authorities are already making attempts to optimize spending on preferential programs. Thus, the Ministry of Finance plans to strengthen control over tax expenditures, the agency has prepared such a draft resolution (Izvestia has it).

These include, for example, deductions, exemption from payment of fees for a number of companies, reduced rates, and so on. In addition, the Ministry of Finance called for the introduction of a new category — "international tax expenditures".

Harsh conditions: airports in the Far North are denied subsidies for 9 billion

The funds are needed for the repair and modernization of infrastructure, ensuring security, according to the Federal Air Transport Agency.

First of all, they should include VAT refunds when exporting goods, said Marina Solodovnikova, an expert at the Presidential Academy. Such a measure will reduce the profits of companies, but in the context of tightening fiscal policy, this step will be justified, she believes.

The introduction of a new category of expenses will allow for constant monitoring and a comprehensive understanding of their expediency and effectiveness, the press service of the Ministry of Finance told Izvestia. The ministry also noted that the assessment makes it possible to identify ineffective measures, including decisions on the "adjustment" of tax and customs legislation on this basis.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

Benefits should not only be targeted, but also answer the question of what society and the state receive in exchange for their provision, said Vladimir Saskov, an expert at the Institute of Tax Management and Real Estate Economics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

"This will allow us to maintain truly effective tax preferences (with possible simplification of access to them), combined with the rejection of those that do not meet the current demands of socio-economic and technological development," the expert said.

The total amount of shortfall in budget revenues (i.e. tax expenditures) is 13.5 trillion rubles, said Alla Chalova, Associate Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Finance at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

According to Vladimir Saskov, already in the autumn period it will be possible to see the first results of the application of the new rules for assessing tax expenditures. And it is quite possible that in the next three-year budget period there will be a reduction in some tax preferences, the expert concluded.