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Putin offers stimulus package to Japanese investors on Kuril Islands

In addition, according to the Russian President, a duty-free zone arrangement will be created to include the entire Kuril Islands, where no value added tax will be imposed "until goods leave the Kurils"

VLADIVOSTOK, September 3. /TASS/. Both Russian and foreign investors, including Japanese ones, will be eligible for tax, customs and administrative benefits on the Kuril Islands, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, addressing a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum.

"I would like to point out that not only domestic companies, but also foreign investors and certainly, our neighbors, which includes our Japanese partners, will be eligible for tax, customs and administrative benefits. We discussed this with them earlier in terms of creating conditions for the economic development on the islands and our cooperation there," Putin explained.

The Russian president stated that an unprecedented package of benefits and incentives for businesses will be established on the Kuril Islands, which would include a ten-year exemption from key income and property taxes, as well as from land and transport taxes. Putin specified that the rule would apply to companies that were not just registered on the Kuril Islands but really worked in the region. Insurances payments for such companies will be reduced to 7.6% for ten years.

In addition, according to Putin, a duty-free zone arrangement will be created to include the entire Kuril Islands, where no value added tax will be imposed "until goods leave the Kurils." The head of state added that those benefits would be extended to all activities except for the work of mediators, the production of goods subject to excise duty, hydrocarbon production and processing, as well as the harvesting of valuable aquatic bioresources.