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Russian tax service not inspecting Dozhd broadcaster

Earlier the channel’s investor said that the tax service had withdrawn copies of the leasing and subleasing contracts of the company

© ITAR-TASS/Sergei Shahidzanyan

MOSCOW, March 20. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s Federal Tax Service is not carrying out a tax audit of the notorious Dozhd TV channel, the service’s press office said on Thursday.

Tax agencies requested the channel to hand in to them the photocopies of the leasing contracts in connection with an MP query they received in March, the tax service said adding that in accordance with legislation of the Russian Federation the service is obliged to reply to it.

Earlier the channel’s investor Alexander Vinokurov posted on Facebook page a statement that the tax service had withdrawn copies of the leasing and subleasing contracts of the Dozhd Televisions Channel company.

On Thursday, March 20, the Dozhd executives received a notification from the owner of the Krasny Oktyabr business centre that the sublease deadline would not be extended beyond June 20, 2014. “Dozhd hoped it wouldn't have to move into some other studio earlier than the year 2016 in connection with a scheduled reconstruction of the Krasny Oktyabr business centre,” Vinokurov said.

“If we were banned from entering the office, it would mean the end of our programming,” he said. “But we’ll try to come to terms with the office owners.”

Vinokurov said the channel had no plans to move into another studio.

Notorious Dozhd TV channel’s lease of the office in Moscow’s Krasny Oktyabr (Red October) business centre expires on June 20 and it means the stoppage of broadcasting, Vinokurov told Itar-Tass on Thursday. The channel executives intend to negotiate prolongation of the lease.

The Dozhd investor also wrote on his Facebook page that it would take at least 12 to 18 months to prepare a new facility for the channel’s operations while the spending would total several million dollars.

“We won’t be able to use most of the equipment we have at Krasny Oktyabr in that case,” Vinokurov said.

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