Major US corporations operating in Russia paid $1.2 billion in taxes to the Russian state in 2023, according to Newsweek data. Newsweek reports that more than 300 US companies are still operating in Russia.
The above figures are provided to Newsweek by B4 Ukraine. B4 Ukraine is a group of Ukrainian-funded non-governmental organizations that have spent three years urging Western companies to cut off relations with Russia.
According to this group, the 5 companies that pay the most profitable taxes to Russia in 2023 are Philip Morris International (220 million USD), PepsiCo beverage company (135 million USD), Mars confectionery company (99 million USD), Procter & Gamble sanitary and health consumer goods company (67 million USD) and Mondelez confectionery company.
According to B4 Ukraine's previous report, US companies paid a total of $1.2 billion in taxes to the Russian state in 2023, up from $712 million in 2022. The contributions of these companies have made the US the country with the largest source of foreign taxes paid to the Russian budget.
Although a series of Western companies have stopped operating in Russia following the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict in 2022, there are still about 123 large US companies staying in Russia, according to research from the Yale School of Management. When considering small and medium-sized enterprises, Yale estimates that there are about 328 US companies operating in Russia.
In addition to pressure campaigns organized by organizations like B4 Ukraine, Western sanctions have forced some companies out of the Russian market.
British consumer goods giant Unilever withdrew from Russia last October, when CEO Hein Schumacher complained that the company had difficulty moving cash out of Russia and had encountered problems reviewing financial results and controlling the way it managed its brands.
Under divestment rules issued by the Russian government last year, companies leaving Russia must seek government permission to sell and are required to sell their assets at a 50% discount and pay divestment taxes from 10% to 15%.
From February 2022 to December 2023, companies selling business activities in Russia lost a total of 103 billion USD, the New York Times reported, citing financial records. The newspaper also added that these companies have also paid at least $1.25 billion in divestment taxes to the Russian state.
