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Russia’s Federation Council passes package of laws on extension of capital amnesty

Earlier, President Vladimir Putin proposed extending capital amnesty for at least a year, but only for those who transfer funds to Russia and register business in special administrative zones

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/. Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament) passed the package of laws on the third stage of capital amnesty submitted by the government at a meeting on Wednesday. The laws contain amendments to Russia’s Tax Code and the Code of Administrative Offences.

"The law has been drafted to implement Russian President’s instruction dated February 23, 2019 on extension of ‘capital amnesty’. It is aimed at creating favorable environment for the transfer of assets to the Russian jurisdiction," according to an explanatory note.

As part of the third stage of the amnesty, individuals will be able to declare their assets and bank accounts from June 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020 retaining all their guarantees in exchange for repatriation of funds and state registration of foreign companies they control in special zones in Russia’s Kaliningrad Region and Primorsky Region.

The amendments to the Code on Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code provide that capital amnesty participants will not be prosecuted in Russia for violations, if those violations were committed before January 1, 2019 (earlier - before January 1, 2018).

The amendments to the Tax Code imply that a capital amnesty participant will be freed from personal income tax, which is imposed on the profit of a foreign company under his or her control, provided that the taxpayer was not recognized as a tax resident of the Russian Federation for the tax period 2018 year.

The adoption of laws is aimed at creating favorable conditions for the transfer of assets to the Russian jurisdiction.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed extending capital amnesty for at least a year, but only for those who transfer funds to the Russian Federation and register a business in special administrative zones.

Capital amnesty implies legalization of Russians’ foreign assets. The first stage of the amnesty took place from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, when tax authorities collected about 7,200 declarations of foreign property and assets of Russians. The second stage started on March 1, 2018 and ended on February 28, 2019. During the second stage, assets worth more than 10 bln euro were declared.