The Russian government has set a course toward actively stimulating the national artificial intelligence industry, moving away from restrictive measures in favor of financial incentives. At the center of attention is a package of tax relief measures for creators of "sovereign" and "national" large foundational models, which is currently undergoing interagency coordination.
The mechanics of tax preferences
A key element of the proposed mechanism is an annual regional investment tax credit against corporate income tax. The size of the credit will be equivalent to the company's expenses on developing the AI model, but its application will be capped at 20 billion rubles per organization until 2030. An important condition: to take advantage of the benefit, the company must invest five times more than the amount of the credit itself into the project.
An additional incentive is the ability to account for expenses on developing national and sovereign models at triple the amount. According to the initiative's authors, this will compensate for up to 50% of invested funds through savings on corporate income tax. Expenses on fine-tuning models are proposed to be capitalized and included in the cost of the new product.
For companies engaged in developing and distributing AI models, a reduced insurance premium rate of 7.6% is provided. A zero rate is planned for legal entities belonging to the same group as the developer of a sovereign or national model. The list of such companies must be approved by the government, and this measure will not apply to banks.
Authorities' position: development instead of bans
It is telling that the government is not considering a scenario of refusing to use AI models. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko emphasizes that the issue of technological sovereignty is "far more multifaceted," and starting to address it with bans would be wrong. In his view, Russia adheres to the most balanced course, avoiding both the closed American model and the fully open Chinese approach.
The Deputy Prime Minister's office confirms that the proposals are at the development stage and are being discussed with businesses and relevant agencies. The final support parameters and specific tools have not yet been approved.
My comment: This step is a signal to the market. Instead of bans and restrictions that could stifle the industry's development, the authorities are choosing fiscal incentives. This creates a more predictable environment for investments in the high-tech sector. However, the effectiveness of the measures will directly depend on the speed of adopting subordinate legislation and the simplicity of administration. Bureaucratic red tape could negate even the most generous tax preferences.