Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law Stanford University


CDDRL News



August 4, 1998 - Op-ed

Russia Needs True Reform, Not Higher Taxes

Appeared in New York Times, August 4, 1998

By Michael A. McFaul

Russia's Government has come up with a new cure for the country's economic ills: higher taxes. A chorus of Western officials, including International Monetary Fund bureaucrats and Vice President Al Gore during his trip to Moscow last month, have praised the Government's new financial plan, which includes big tax increases, as important steps to advance reform.