Justice is sweeping the planet. This is how one should understand the large-scale offensive that the Russian Ministry of Finance has finally undertaken against offshore jurisdictions around the world. The situation that allowed our businessmen to evade taxes, literally devouring less successful compatriots, is rapidly changing. At the exit, the country should receive a solid, and most importantly, regular increase in the budget, which is quite useful in the conditions of a post-virus crisis.

And now Cyprus surrendered under the pressure of our fiscal officials. The republic agreed to Russia's demands to increase the tax on dividends and interest to 15%. The decision will come into force on January 1, 2021. According to the Ministry of Finance, this should bring 130-150 billion rubles to the Russian budget annually. The money will be directed to payments to families with children, unemployed and temporarily disabled citizens. That is, to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic. Well, the goal is holy.

The scale of the tectonic shift that has occurred becomes clear from some of the figures announced by representatives of the Ministry of Finance. In 2018, 1.4 trillion rubles were withdrawn to Cyprus, and in 2019 - 1.9 trillion rubles. This is exactly one tenth of all Russian budget revenues. That's a hole! The economic sense of the taken measure is obvious: now the registration of a company on the island or in Russia from the point of view of taxation of dividends is becoming equally attractive.

Over the past 20-30 years, the jurisdiction of Cyprus has been extremely popular with Russian financial companies, holdings, as well as with owners of specific assets such as ships or intellectual property. It is worth noting that the Cyprus channel with a zero tax rate was formed back in Soviet times for quite state purposes. And in the 1990s, an agreement was signed to ban double taxation at a rate of 5-10%.

Nicosia did not immediately agree to Moscow's terms. At first they talked to us "through the lip", and then they refused altogether. It took a threat to denounce the current agreement and some time to comprehend it. And this despite the fact that Russia, as usual, took into account the interests of its partners.

“Taking into account the close economic and historical ties between the two states, the Russian side formulated options for a compromise solution,” our Ministry of Finance explained patiently.

Now that Cyprus has thrown out the white flag, the road is open for the revision of similar agreements with other jurisdictions. In the coming month, negotiations are expected to be completed with Luxembourg and Malta, and a little later with the Netherlands. It looks like our fiscal is getting a taste. Well, that's a legitimate reason for pride. Thunder of victory, resound! The unyielding will of the Russian state, as in all times, works wonders. Golden rain will pour into the treasury.

Let me remind you that the Ministry of Finance has launched the process of revising the agreements, fulfilling the spring order of Vladimir Putin. It was then that the president demanded from the new year to raise taxes on the withdrawal of dividends and interest abroad to 15%. I didn't knock on the table with my fist, no. He said in an ordinary, even voice, signed the paper. But the Ministry of Finance understood everything correctly. It's time. Incentives from a superior superior are still effective.

Of course, I wanted the authorities to start deoffshorization in earnest early. In order not to count - to count us the trillions withdrawn from the country for many years, for nothing. It is necessary to share, as Alexander Livshits, not the worst Minister of Finance, said back in the 1990s. But then the power of the nouveau riche was still strong - it did not work out. Now everything is different. The Center, if desired, can put any violator of tax legislation in a known position.

A side beneficial effect of what is happening may be that many companies change their foreign tax residency to Russian. The Ministry of Finance has already promised to help them. Special tax zones on the Russky Islands in Primorye and Oktyabrsky in the Kaliningrad Region are waiting for the first Cypriot refugees. Others will follow them: from Malta, from Luxembourg, from the Netherlands - from everywhere. It will be right. Everything in the house - nothing from the house, the Russian people say in such cases.

The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.