Russia proposes 3% tax on migrants' foreign transfers

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Sergei Mironov, chairman of the A Just Russia party, has proposed introducing a special 3% tax on every bank transfer made by migrants from Russia abroad, TASS reported.

“A special payment must be established when transferring money abroad,” Mironov said. In his view, foreign citizens should pay 3% on each such bank transfer.

The party chairman also said that migrants had transferred more than 17 billion roubles from Russia abroad in 2026. According to Mironov, foreign citizens do not currently pay tax on this amount.

The proposal could affect Uzbek citizens working in Russia. According to data from Uzbekistan's Agency for Migration cited by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, about 1.4 million Uzbek citizens work in nearly 40 countries. Russia remains the largest destination for Uzbek labour migrants, with 834,200 citizens of Uzbekistan there.

Another 84,400 Uzbek citizens work in Kazakhstan, 72,100 in Türkiye and 46,400 in South Korea. A further 258,000 Uzbek citizens work in European countries, while 97,700 work in other countries.

Against the backdrop of large-scale labour migration, significant amounts of money are transferred to Uzbekistan from abroad. In January-June 2026, remittances to individuals in Uzbekistan reached US$9.3 billion, up 13%, or US$1.1 billion, from the same period in 2025, according to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.

The most significant increases in inflows were recorded from the United Kingdom, up 62%; the European Union, up 27%; and the United States, up 19%. Remittances from Ireland increased 86%, Lithuania by 18% and the Netherlands by 7%.

In absolute terms, transfers from Kazakhstan increased from US$366 million to US$469 million, while transfers from the United States rose from US$313 million to US$372 million. Transfers from South Korea increased from US$282 million to US$314 million, and those from Türkiye rose from US$266 million to US$303 million.

Transfers from the United Kingdom increased from US$89 million to US$144 million, while those from European Union countries rose from US$251 million to US$319 million.

Most of the funds, US$4.8 billion, or 51.7% of the total, were transferred directly to bank cards through the P2P system. This figure increased by 32% compared with the first half of 2025.

Traditional international money transfer systems accounted for US$4.3 billion, or 46.7% of total remittances, in January-June. The increase was 0.3%.

Another US$142 million, or 1.6%, was transferred through the SWIFT banking system, 43% less than a year earlier.