When at the very beginning of the year President Putin unexpectedly for many after the resignation of the Medvedev government appointed the successful tax officer Mikhail Mishustin as prime minister, some lovers of unpretentious schemes for withdrawing trillions through dividends to foreign accounts had a hard time in one place.
The fact is that a number of intergovernmental agreements of the late 90s - early 2000s, which at first glance are very harmless, on the avoidance of double taxation created ideal conditions for the transfer of Russian money to foreign jurisdictions. As the lobbyists of these agreements then stated, they say, it is only in the interests of the Russian economy, and all billions will return home in the form of foreign investment.
In fairness, it should be noted that a good half of the funds withdrawn in this way did return to the country as laundered and, as an investment, were not taxed. However, in such places of withdrawal as the Republic of Cyprus, the largest tax losses are also - up to 5%. The rest settled on white personal accounts in respectable banks of old Europe, filling the foundation for future immigrant well-being for children and a personal pension fund for the owners.
Thus, if you have an income of a billion as a result of legal transactions, several nimble lawyers in Russia and abroad, and a legal entity in a foreign jurisdiction, then run dividends - and instead of the Russian 13% income tax, like all citizens of the country, you will have to pay 0 to 5% plus tax attorney fees. But already in Cyprus.
For example, in a similar way, almost 1.5 trillion rubles were pumped from Russia to Cyprus in 2018 alone, and almost 2 trillion in 2019. That is, in fact, it was withdrawn from the tax base. Unfair, the reader will say, and he will be right!
In March, at the initiative of President Putin, the Russian government changed its approach to taxation of dividends and interest on them for those who take their income abroad, increasing such tax collections to 15% (in fact, equating residents who understate tax payments in this way to non-residents). Moreover, it was decided to direct the difference from the increase in income tax in this category of income of workers who do not need it at all to direct financing of the fight against the spread of the dangerous coronavirus infection and the fund for supporting doctors.
As a follow-up to the story, in April, corresponding letters from the Russian government were sent to financial institutions in Cyprus, Malta and Luxembourg with a proposal to adjust their tax policy in the context of agreements on the avoidance of double taxation.
At the ongoing negotiations between the financial authorities of Russia and Cyprus, the Cypriots actually refused to change their approach to Russian dividends, only offering the Russian side to tighten control over the so-called technical legal entities that participate in tax-base minimization schemes. That is, as the Russian Ministry of Finance reports in its release, following the results of these negotiations, the Cypriot side “makes the effect of the measures taken to support the national economy and social programs unattainable by the Russian side, and will also facilitate the tax-free withdrawal of significant financial resources from the territory of Russia through the Cypriot jurisdiction. of Russian origin ".
Today the process of denunciation of the relevant treaty has begun. Obviously, there will be no double taxation agreements with Cyprus by the fall. Perhaps, despite the fact that colleagues from Malta and Luxembourg will follow the same Cypriot path, the corresponding agreements with them will also be terminated.
And it was not so much the coronavirus that violated the usual state of affairs for the domestic nouveau riche (the virus became only a catalyst for some processes), as the state's patience, if not exhausted, is clearly coming to an end.
Of course, many of this category of “workers”, who for some reason consider themselves to be the “national elite”, but in fact are just parasites in the largest organism in the world, will run to change the geography of their tax optimization schemes. From Cyprus and Malta, say, to Holland or Switzerland - there are more expensive, but still slightly below the domestic 15%. Apparently, the logic of the parasite forces you to bring everything out. Well, so be it. But the attitude towards these nice people in our society should be appropriate.
In fairness, it should be noted that there is another way for the domestic business community. For example, we can transfer our foreign structures home to Russia: we have special administrative regions (analogous to an offshore company) both in the west and in the east. True, in this case, new measures of trust are needed between the state, business and society.
The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.