Russian President Vladimir Putin in Netanya, North Israel, on June 25, 2012. On June 9, 2015, Putin signed off on a bill granting amnesty to Russians who have illegally kept money in offshore tax havens --- provided they repatriate the money into the Russian economy or pay taxes on it. File photo by Yin Dongxun/UPI |
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MOSCOW, June 9 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin this week signed off on amnesty for Russians illegally hiding money in offshore accounts, provided the funds were taxed or repatriated.
Russian state media in late March quoted Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as saying the bill "declares immunity from criminal, administrative and tax punishment within the framework established by the law and in relation to transactions performed before January 1, 2014, if the wrongdoings committed involved the formation of the declared property items and transactions connected with the acquisition of these assets."
The measure follows a bill signed by Putin in November 2014 that requires Russian citizens to pay taxes on their offshore assets.
Russian state media reported in November that $2 trillion has fled Russia in recent years through offshore schemes. At the time, TASS reported the new tax law would bring in up to $4.3 billion in tax revenues for Russia's annual budget.
"Russia holds a leading place in the world among developed states by the scope of the use of offshore schemes," TASS quoted Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee for Economic Policy Sergei Shatirov as saying. "A large part of the Russian economy is linked to offshore tax shelters in one way or another. The use of offshore havens by Russian business causes large damage to the country's interests."
The amnesty measure is seen as a further step in returning capital to the Russian economy amid economic sanctions levied by Western powers against Russia over the Ukraine conflict. In 2014, when the conflict began, Russia suffered a record-high loss of $151.5 billion from its economy. During the first quarter of this year, the loss has been $32.6 billion.
Konstantin Dobrynin, Russia's deputy chairman of the Federation Council's committee for constitutional legislation, told Russian state media the amnesty bill is expected to bring back to the Russian economy at least 10 percent of these foreign assets.
