Russian government supports “amnesty of capital”

The government of the Russian Federation has supported an amnesty bill for the tax evaders that will legalize their capital, according to the Cabinet’s blog on Twitter.  A positive resolution on the bill is available on the website of the government too. 

The government drafted the bill “On Voluntary Declaration of Property and Bank Accounts (deposits) by Individuals” at the request of President Vladimir Putin following his address to the Federal Assembly dating back to Dec 4 2014.  The bill that was passed by the Russian parliament in the first reading on May 19 stipulates amnesty of capital on eight articles of the Russian Criminal Code. The articles will be added into the text of the bill by the time it will be discussed in the second reading.

The bill stipulates amnesty for the capital returning to Russia. The declaration of assets held at banks outside Russia will be submitted to the taxation agencies under seal of secrecy. The content of the declarations will not be available to the government agencies. It will not be used as a basis or proof for a criminal case either.  This mechanism will enable individuals to register their property previously registered to nominal holders.  The transfer of the foreign property to Russia will be exempted from taxes.

It is assumed that the taxes, pennies, and fines paid by nominal holders for the declared property will not be declared as excess taxes after the transfer of the property to the factual owners.