Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to consider the possibility of a tax rebate on the money spent on physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle, RT reports.
Members of the Russian Popular Front will discuss the proposal at a meeting in March. After that, the matter will be taken over by respective agencies. Currently, tax rebates are available for educational and healthcare services. Similar tax rebates will be provided on the amounts spent on sport activities.
It is not determined yet which services will be included in the list of sports and healthy activities. However, it was reported that the tax incentive will be limited.
“Nobody will be able to get rich by going to elite fitness clubs and doing expensive sports like golf, yachting or motor racing,” explained Tatyana Loginova, expert of the Russian Popular Front, research fellow of the Center for Tax Policy at the Finance Ministry’s Finance Research Institute.
For example, cheap gym users will be entitled to a tax rebate of less than RUR 2,000 ($30) while pricier fitness club users may receive up to RUR 10K ($150).
The tax rebate is to encourage people to lead a healthy lifestyle. According to the Russian Popular Front, less than 40% Russians do sports on a regular basis.
“It is possible that the tax rebate will account for up to 10% of the spent amount, even less than many fitness clubs offer as a discount during marketing campaigns,” a tax expert and Uproshchyonka (simplified taxation system) web portal director Nikolai Yepikhin noted. “Still, it is better than nothing.”