Owing to the great public interest in the tax practice of the museum department the State Hermitage Museum informs:

29 April 2009 the press service of the State Hermitage spread the information:

For many years the State Hermitage practices the usual civilized discussion with the tax inspection in the court of arbitration. The question is about the protection of the right of the museum to deduct the income tax base by the amount of expenses directed at the main activities of the museum. The mentioned right is provided by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The reasonableness of most objections of the State Hermitage is proven by the favourable decision of the court of arbitration and is not disputed by the tax inspection.

At the present time the appeal of the tax inspection against the decision of the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region about avoiding the decision of the tax authority dated 03.05.2007 N61600212 is in the proceedings of the Thirteenth Arbitration Appellate court.

The amount equal to 741,000 roubles is in question. The tax inspection does not have any other tax claims against the State Hermitage.

We should point out that the appeal does not concern the estimation of costs justification but the expenses accounting procedure, which, in tax inspection judgment, is wrong.