Russian govt yet to work out details of new capital amnesty

MOSCOW, Dec 26 (PRIME) -- The Russian government has yet to work out and formalize details of a new capital amnesty, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

Under the law approved in 2014, Russians were allowed to declare assets, banking accounts, securities and stakes in companies registered in offshore countries and start paying taxes in Russia without criminal prosecution if tax avoidance took place before January 1, 2015. The amnesty was in effect until June 30, 2016.

On Monday, President Vladimir Putin called for prolongation of capital amnesty and release of businessmen relocating their firms to Russia from a 13% tax.

“No details have been defined yet. There is an initiative, we are to form it and to formalize it,” Peskov said.

“The president has repeatedly said that Western countries, let’s say, have not been holding to the principle of sanctity of private property, of movable property and of real estate, of financial assets lately. We have repeatedly said, and our businessmen have repeatedly faced attempts to freeze (the assets) and such, attempts that were illegal and ungrounded. This is done under the guise of the same restrictions and sanctions,” he said.

“It is obvious that such an unreliable atmosphere for foreign investment may create discomfort for the Russian business, for the Russian capital that was invested there. The president as the head of the state supports the initiative to create comfortable conditions for the business here if they want to use the possibility and to repatriate the capital here, to the Russian Federation. And to insure themselves from possible brutal non-market invasions of property.”

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