Category: Russia

Russia may stop automatic tax data exchange with Britain, dependencies: media

MOSCOW, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — The Russian Federal Tax Service (FTS) may stop the automatic exchange of financial information with Britain and its dependencies — the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey, TASS news agency reported Friday, quoting an FTS draft order. According to the news report, the draft order… – Continue reading

Putin Signs ‘Tax Havens Bill’ to Shield Russian Companies From Foreign Sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a package of laws allowing Russia-controlled foreign offshore companies to be re-registered in offshore financial centers (OFCs) established in Russia’s Kaliningrad Region and Primorsky Territory in order to minimize the possible consequences of sanctions and political risks from foreign countries. The legislation establishes the procedure… – Continue reading

Gibraltar—Marbella. Russian oligarchs hide their Spanish assets offshore

It emerged that Russian oligarchs, members of ‘Russian mafia’, and many other owners of real estate in Spain have neither Spanish citizenship nor residential permit and successfully evade national taxes. Mansions in Marbella purchased by Russians officially belong to offshore companies incorporated in Gibraltar, a tiny British Overseas Territory. The… – Continue reading

Europe wages war on Russian oligarchs as London and Cyprus tighten regulations for banking operations

London and Cyprus have tightened the regulations for banking operations, and the accounts belonging to Russians face blocking. Last weekend, Britain said it could block the bank accounts of about 100 foreigners. The assets will be frozen unless their owners provide information on the source of the money. At the… – Continue reading

Kazakhstan May Ban Cryptocurrencies Citing Money-Laundering Concerns

Kazakhstan’s National Bank is considering banning cryptocurrency use, exchanges, and mining, saying virtual currencies are an ideal vehicle for fraud, money-laundering, and tax evasion. “In Kazakhstan, the National Bank is taking a very conservative approach toward the matter, and it welcomes nothing but extremely tough restrictions,” Daniyar Akishev, the chairman… – Continue reading

Russian senator facing tax evasion charges in France ‘hopes to return home shortly’

MOSCOW, January 22./TASS/. Russian senator and businessman Suleiman Kerimov, who is facing money laundering charges in France, is sure that he will prove he is not guilty, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said after meeting with Kerimov, who had spent three days in Russia with the permission of the French… – Continue reading

Russian Federation: BVI Ready To Disclose Beneficiaries

Goltsblat BLP advises that the Federal Tax Service (FTS) has approved BVI’s removal from the list of countries (jurisdictions) not exchanging information with the Russian Federation for tax purposes from 1 January 2018 (the relevant order is pending registration with the Ministry of Justice). A country’s removal from the FTS… – Continue reading

Russia Removes Hong Kong From List of Offshore Tax Zones

The Russian government will no longer consider Hong Kong a Chinese-affiliated tax haven that doesn’t share tax information. Russia will strike Hong Kong from its list of offshore jurisdictions following ratification of a double tax treaty signed by the two parties last January and ratified by Russia in July, according… – Continue reading

Assessing the Hong Kong – Russia Double Taxation Agreement: Another Step Towards Amplifying China’s Eurasian Connection

Assessing the Hong Kong – Russia Double Taxation Agreement: Another Step Towards Amplifying China’s Eurasian Connection   The long-awaited Comprehensive Double Taxation Agreement (CDTA) between Hong Kong and Russia entered into force on July 29, 2016. The agreement will take effect on April 1, 2017 in Hong Kong and January… – Continue reading

Putin says no more handouts for Russian offshore companies

Russian firms that have a controlling stake outside the country can no longer apply for state support, according to a new law signed by President Putin on Monday. This includes Russian legal entities with more than 50 percent in authorized capital abroad. The law applies not only to the principals,… – Continue reading

Kenya: Treasury Defends Controversial Mauritius Tax Agreement

Treasury is still fighting to keep a tax agreement out of parliament after a lobby group sued them over a pact it signed with Mauritius back in 2012. The double taxation avoidance agreement allows firms registered in the two countries to pay taxes in only one country. It also allows… – Continue reading

Russian Agreement Advances Hong Kong’s DTA Priorities

Hong Kong’s newly signed double tax deal with Russia is said to support the territory’s ongoing efforts to expand its tax treaty network with jurisdictions along “the Belt and Road.” The Belt and Road, or the Silk Road Economic Belt, is a Chinese Government economic development project, which is primarily… – Continue reading

Russia, Hong Kong sign avoidance of double taxation agreement

Russia and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China signed an agreement on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion regarding profits taxes on Monday. The document was signed by Russia’s State Secretary, Deputy Finance Minister Yuriy Zubarev and the Secretary for Financial… – Continue reading

Pakistan, Central Asia in talks to set up big, new economic zone

Nawaz Sharif has turned his full attention for close relations with Central Asian states since the five of them broke away from Russia 23 years ago. Fast track negotiations between Central Asian and Pakistani leaderships are slated to turn their countries into a big, new economic zone. Their desire and… – Continue reading

Russia Wants to Put Austria on Tax Haven List

Austria is on the preliminary list of 119 countries and territories which from the point of view of Russian authorities don’t guarantee the exchange of tax information with Russia. If the document is implemented, as planned, in form of a resolution, Russian investors in Austria will face massive tax disadvantages… – Continue reading

A Pakistani, who has failed in Pakistan, combating tax evasion abroad

ISLAMABAD: Talent is universal, opportunities are not. A Pakistani is combating tax fraud in America and Russia using the same technology he earlier employed in Pakistan discovering 3.5 million out-of-tax-net rich individuals. Unlike the appreciation of his efforts abroad, the data he compiled in Pakistan has been thrown into the… – Continue reading

NBR to sign deal with Bhutan to avoid double taxation

Bangladesh is set to sign an agreement with Bhutan to avoid double taxation to boost investments, trade and facilitate information exchange between the two Saarc nations, the National Board of Revenue said in a statement. A team led by NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman is now in Thimpu to take… – Continue reading

Russian Federation: Russian 2015 Tax Revolution

For many years international tax planning for Russian inbound and outbound investments, and wealth planning for Russian resident individuals, was rather straightforward. That was primarily due to relatively simple domestic tax rules and a degree of inexperience amongst the Russian tax and other interested authorities in relation to international tax… – Continue reading

The framework for investment between Malta and Russia is excellent – Minister Cardona in Moscow

The Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business, Dr Chris Cardona attended Malta Day 2015 in Moscow coinciding with the 51st anniversary from Malta’s independence, during which a Maltese-Russian Business Forum was held. Minister Cardona spoke about the good relations Malta has held with Russia, which go back many… – Continue reading

Russian “Economic Patriotism” May Shake Things Up For Wealth Managers

New de-offshorization and capital amnesty laws could have widespread effects In an attempt to encourage “economic patriotism,” Russia recently adopted two new laws: (1) The De-Offshorization Law, which makes a number of major changes in the existing systems of corporate and personal taxation in Russia, particularly as they pertain to… – Continue reading

Thursday’s papers: Portugese tax dodge, boat export surge, Åland plans, apartment rent ris

Finland’s print media carries a mixed bag of headlines this Thursday, from former business bosses moving to tax-soft Portugal to studio apartment rents rising fast outside Helsinki. Neutral zone Åland is also under scrutiny, and the boat industry, at least, is doing well. Top tabloid Iltalehti splashes its front page… – Continue reading

London estate agents caught on camera dealing with ‘corrupt’ Russian buyer

Channel 4 documentary shows agents in wealthy districts agreeing to continue with purchase to be made with ill-gotten gains from Russian health budget Top estate agents in Britain’s wealthiest postcodes are willing to turn a blind eye to apparent money laundering by corrupt foreign buyers, according to an investigation by… – Continue reading

A Perspective on BEPS From Russia

OECD and G20 Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) was adopted in 2013. It consists of 15 actions including transfer pricing, taxation of controlled foreign corporations (CFC), digital commerce, hybrid instruments, international information exchange, tax treaty shopping etc. In 2013, OECD working group prepared draft documents regarding… – Continue reading

Chairman Royce, Rep. Pallone welcome US-Amenia Trade & Investment Framework Agreement

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) were among the first Congressional leaders to welcome the May 7th signing of the U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), a longstanding policy priority for the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). Chairman… – Continue reading

Putin fishing to pull oligarchs’ cash back to Russia

President Putin coined a new word in his state of the nation address at the end of 2012, when he called for new measures for the “deoffshorisation of our economy”, reports the International Business Times. This was to become a major addition, not just to the Russian vocabulary but to… – Continue reading

The Baltic States and Greece: Divergent Crises

It has become increasingly fashionable to compare the results of Greece and the Baltic States’ response to the financial crisis of 2008, most recently last month with the Financial Times’ column with John Dizard. This, however, is a classic textbook case of comparing apples to oranges. Greece’s crisis was chiefly… – Continue reading

Obama’s war on tax cheats gains ground

The Obama administration is gaining ground in its war against tax cheats, racking up victories in a global crackdown that has made it harder to escape the Internal Revenue Service. President Obama’s battle against offshore tax evaders hasn’t gotten the publicity of some of his other priorities but under his… – Continue reading

Board of Adjustment Annulled the Reassessment Decision against Nokian Tyres Plc Concerning Tax Years 2007-2010

HELSINKI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Regulatory News: Nokian Tyres plc (HEX:NRE1V) Stock Exchange Release 7 April 2015 3:15 p.m. Board of Adjustment annulled the reassessment decision against Nokian Tyres plc concerning tax years 2007-2010 The Board of Adjustment annulled the reassessment decision from the Tax Administration, according to which the Company was obliged to… – Continue reading

New Russian CFC Rules Will Impact Inbound U.S. Tax Planning

According to recent estimates, the number of wealthy Russians investing in the United States ballooned in 2014 as a result of political turmoil and a disintegrating ruble causing Russians to seek a safe haven for their wealth abroad. The amount of private net capital flowing out of Russia hit $120… – Continue reading

Global Tax Transparency Goes Live in 2016

Cross border tax fraud and tax evasion by High Net Wealth Individuals (HNWI) are serious problems for many jurisdictions. For many years exchange of information between countries has been solely upon request. In practise this procedure is not efficiently working as it requires foreseeable relevance, thus ‘fishing’ for information is… – Continue reading

Endorsing tax evasion

A vote in favor of repealing FATCA sends a message: a message to foreign banks that they can get back to helping wealthy Americans hide their assets and use offshore accounts to evade tax. In anticipation of yesterday’s Senate’s budget resolution “vote-o-rama,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) has introduced an amendment… – Continue reading

Mukhtar Ablyazov’s role in the world’s fight against money laundering

Except for a few family members and a dwindling number of those who consider him a dissident, most people who have followed the Mukhtar Ablyazov story have nothing good to say about him. They see him as an embezzler, swindler and con man par excellence – a guy whose theft… – Continue reading

Gibraltar–A Tax Haven–Sues ABC For Calling It A Tax Haven

According to news reports, Gibraltar’s government isn’t going to take being called a ‘tax haven’ lying down. The little British Overseas Territory at the tip of Spain is suing ABC—not the TV network, the Spanish newspaper—for defamation. Gibraltarians may live in what many call a tax haven, but their government… – Continue reading

Navalny: Hockey Legend-Turned-Senator Fetisov Violating Offshore Assets Law

Opposition firebrand Alexey Navalny called Tuesday for the dismissal of hockey legend Slava Fetisov from Russia’s Federation Council, alleging that the senator owns offshore assets in Cyprus in violation of Russian law. Navalny, the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, uploaded to his blog a series of documents allegedly evidencing Fetisov’s… – Continue reading

Russia Ratifies OECD’s Multilateral Tax Pact

The Government of Russia has ratified the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. The OECD said, with this development, Russia has joined the most comprehensive multilateral platform available for tax co-operation and exchange of information. The Convention, as amended by the 2010… – Continue reading