Yellen Signals Support for Windfall Tax on Frozen Russian Assets

  • Biden administration has resisted demands to seize the assets
  • Yellen says tax can be used to aid in Ukraine’s rebuilding

Janet Yellen

Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg
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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen voiced support for a European Union plan to impose a windfall tax on profits generated by frozen Russian sovereign assets, calling it a “sensible” way to help finance the reconstruction of Ukraine.

“This seems like a reasonable proposal,” Yellen said in an interview with Bloomberg reporters and editors in New York on Wednesday, adding that the US is discussing the idea with the EU. “It’s a different thing than seizing the assets.”