…BUT REMAINS UNCLEAR ABOUT HOW IT WILL PAY ITS BILLS.

The question, as always, however, is where the money will actually come from. State Tax Service head Georgy Boos announced Tuesday that Russian tax collection had plunged in September for the second straight month. Only 9.3 billion rubles (US$580 million) were collected last month–almost 2 billion rubles less than the August figure, which itself was only half the number collected in July.

At the same time, Primakov said that the State Tax service would return more than US$1 billion worth of equipment seized from businesses which had failed to pay customs duties and value-added tax. “Taxes must, of course, be paid but at the same time we cannot close our eyes to what is happening to enterprises where human beings are working and from where the state will very soon receive substantial profits as a result of installation of this equipment,” Primakov said. He added that the delinquent enterprises would be allowed to pay off their tax debts later or in installments.

MOSCOW SAYS IT WILL VETO NATO MILITARY ACTION.