Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has announced a new offshore amnesty program, the anti-FATCA:
I announce a full amnesty for capital returning to Russia, and I repeat, a full amnesty. What does that mean? Those people who fully legalize, fully bring back their capital to Russia, should be protected from being dragged to various law enforcement agencies, and from having to prove where they got their money from, and from being exposed to criminal investigations.
We need to reverse the history of capital flight from our country, we need to end this era…. We have already done a lot of work to improve our investment climate, and now we need to turn to implement that legislation.
This is a brilliant move on President Putin’s part. Instead of punishing expatriated funds, he has welcomed them home. Wealthy Russians who have been burnt by confiscation during the Cyprus bailout and by illegal sanctions by President Obama, will find likely this a very welcome opportunity to repatriate their wealth.
A much better way to address Russia’s economic problems because it doesn’t place an unfair burden on innocent third parties. Whereas FATCA and CBT do.
Come on. The reason they have capital flight already is they just started confiscating stuff and chucking people in the pokey. I wouldn’t trust this clown.
I think he is right. One should just close the door on this era. ( Whether people will want to bring their money back to Russia is another question.)
Its just like America screaming about all the tax loopholes people are taking advantage of when they exist and a tax lawyer who advises them is just doing his job right. Rand Paul put his finger on that kind of hypocrisy. And while at it, CBT should also be scrapped.
@Neill
Around the 20th of October, Izvestia was reporting that the Putin administration might introduce CBT within three to five years, since half of Russians living abroad are not tax residents and Putin wants their money back in Russia.
I nominate Vladimir Putin for alpha-dog of the year, Harper for lap-dog.
Here is the news story in English called “Something like FATCA could be introduced in Russia”. It sounds very much like the Russians are following the U.S. playbook, not just in the generic way that the OECD followed FATCA, but at a very detailed level (taxing all sources of foreign income, taxing the retained foreign earnings of Russian companies). Bojemoi!
http://www.banki.ru/news/engnews/?id=7253022
Putin is a black belt and skilled at returning an assault back on the assailant.
If Russia is going to CBT in the future it’s because they have recognized how easy it is to screw over their expat population. Thanks U.S.A.! FATCA and all the rest of this going under the guise of all that is good and right is nothing more than another way to prevent average people from moving abroad, from investing, from earning outside their birthplace. It’s really draconian and scary under all the layers of hyperbole and nice sounding names on bills and “acts” It’s quite repulsive to hear leaders touting “patriotism” while doing all this to limit the freedom of individuals.
Putin’s announcement is a brilliant move. Its the smartest thing any country can do. Hopefully it wont turn out to be a bait and switch.
No big governments can ever be trusted.
With Putin offering full amnesty for Russia’s offshore tax evaders while the US hit their own residents with penalties for the same, who’s the thug nation now? It would be helpful to know whether Russia’s amnesty includes back taxes though. No mention of that in the article.
Somewhat related: just found out (thanks to a Tor exit node in Russia) that access to taxjustice.net is blocked in Russia because it contains “information whose dissemination is forbidden in the Russian Federation”
Not sure whether that was deliberate or whether the tax “justice” folks just happened to pick a webhost with some unsavoury neighbours (e.g. a torrent site or something)