Ministry of Finance works out practical plans on the deoffshorization of the Russian economy.

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation prepared a bill, according to which nominee shareholders and bondholders have to disclose their real beneficiaries. Otherwise, they must pay increased tax.

The idea makes sense, as nowadays many actual owners of capital screen themselves behind «fly-by-night» companies, which are registered in the offshore zones. According to the Ministry of Finance, the budget of the country loses almost 400 billion RUB per year due to this. In the offshore zones tax rates on equity income and returns on bonds, and also on dividends vary from 0% to 5%. That is essentially lower than in the country where they carry on actual entrepreneurial activity.

According to the suggestion of the Ministry of Finance, formal beneficiary that hasn’t disclosed actual owners will have to pay 30% not only of shares and bonds income, but also of dividends.

Thus, such an initiative is focused on implementation of deoffshorization of the Russian economy. This problem is frequently discussed by top leadership of the Russian Federation.
However, the system of implementation of these measures generates questions. It is easy to foresee that not only private companies take part in such national tax evasion scheme, but sometimes affiliated with them Russian officials, business of whom isn’t declared. Selective use and value detraction of this measure are highly probable.

The reliability index, prepared by the CredInform information agency is focused on revealing the «fly-by-night», because sometimes they operate as possible contractor in deal, in order to «bleach» their activity.