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Russian businessmen to recommend slashing of tax burdens for foreign investors

The foreigners have to pay a 30% income tax versus the 13% paid by the Russians
Moscow business center TASS/Mikhail Japardze
Moscow business center
© TASS/Mikhail Japardze

MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. Russian businessmen recommend a slashing of the tax burden for foreign nationals and organizations working in Russia in a bid to improve the investment climate in the country.

This slashing is one of the proposals included in a ‘Book of Complaints by and Proposals from the Russian Business’, which Business Ombudsman Boris Titov is expected to present to President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

Russian legislation stipulates a 15% tax on dividends received by foreigners and a 13% tax for the Russian shareholders.

Also, the foreigners have to pay a 30% income tax versus the 13% paid by the Russians.

Apart from this proposal, the report recommends a lifting of the requirement, under which a foreigner is expected to pass tests for command of the Russian language and knowledge of Russian history and legislation before filing for an employment permit, if he or she arrives in Russia for a brief period - for instance, to launch an investment project, to assembly manufacturing equipment and other purposes of this kind.

Also, the document contains proposals to grant the enterprises having foreign shareholders an opportunity to employ any foreign specialists they need without quotas in the first year of operations.

One more recommendation is to work out criteria for localization of produce in each industry.

"The criteria for localization of industrial enterprises in Russia haven’t been specified and foreign investors don’t have an opportunity to determine precisely to what degree their production processes will be localized in Russia," the report says.

This puts up an obstacle to their decisions on the launch of manufacturing.