Bills regulating cash and noncash payments that were published on the Finance Ministry website could limit private cash transactions to 600,000 rubles ($20,000) beginning in 2014.
As of now, there are no restrictions for individuals, while businesses are limited to payments not exceeding 100,000 rubles, Vedomosti reported last week.
The restrictions would be a blow to the secondary housing market, where 99 percent of transactions are in cash, said Mikhail Kulikov, head of the secondary market department at Inkom-Nedvizhimost. Housing prices could rise, he warned, with the inclusion of bank charges.
(MT)
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