[ii]

Criminal "protection" "taxes" were common 15 years ago and even then it was nothing like "20%" for everybody, it varied greatly from place to place and from business to business and depended on who you know and where are you from.

Small-to-medium businesses are free from anything like that by now AFAIK.

To conduct a "serious" business in most fields you still have to know the right people though, if you don't want it to be taken from you.

[rjurney]

Not everybody, I was talking about people operating large enterprises. When you talk about knowing the right people, I think you are describing this 'tax.'

As to variance: it was my understanding that the FSB was much more even in its pricing than the chaos and gangs before it.

[ii]

Most big companies I know just hire a right person who knows a few FSB generals and create their very own "defense" departments to solve these problems. They pay only salaries to people who know what to do. No bribes or "taxes" whatsoever.