DRAFT LAWS MAY HURT FOREIGN FIRMS.

New draft economics legislation may restrict Western investment still further. One law being considered would force joint ventures to pay taxes quarterly, rather than annually as they do now, Ekonomika i zhizn reported May 27. In an inflationary environment, that represents a significant increase in costs. More seriously, a draft law on the oil and gas industry would eliminate some taxes on energy firms but only at the cost of forcing the companies to give the Russian government a defined share of total output, Segodnya reported June 3. This legislation would also stipulate that such firms would have to reinvest 70 percent of profits back into Russia for the next decade.

Moscow Wins Paris Club Concessions.