Taxpayers who missed the 2022-2023 deadline for processing transfers of assets from controlled foreign companies ("CFCs") have been in the waiting for many months for an extension of the benefits of tax-free transfer of assets from CFCs. And now, this week, the bill to extend and expand the exemption was approved by the Federation Council, which means that it will soon take effect and the process of voluntary deoffshorization will continue.

We would like to remind you that IT companies that wish to enjoy tax benefits need to confirm their state accreditation every year. Companies can confirm state accreditation on the Gosuslugi web site from May 8 to June 1 inclusive.

By May 20, 2024, taxpayers must submit a notification to the tax authority regarding controlled transactions (Clause 2 Article 105.16 of the Russian Tax Code). The key points regarding filing such a notification are described in our brief.

In February of this year, amendments were introduced to the Russian Labor Code (the "Labor Code") concerning guarantees for persons with family responsibilities in cases where an employment contract is to be terminated.

As of March 1, 2024, amendments to the Law on Foreigners took effect. The amendments concern, in particular, the established amount of remuneration payable to foreign citizens working as highly qualified specialists (hereinafter "HQS").

The media’s attention has long been drawn to issues of swapping assets blocked due to sanctions imposed by western states, as well as due to the counter-sanctions Russia imposed in response.

Economic sanctions against Russia have been among the hot topics for business. At the end of 2023, the EU published the 12th sanctions package aimed at Russian companies and state authorities. There are major changes concerning the provision of software to Russian companies.

The end of the past year turned out to be a fruitful time for lawmakers, particularly in respect to taxation. To add, the majority of new laws took effect right as the celebrations unfolded, i.e. starting from January 1, 2024.

In this review, we will examine the main novelties in tax law which could have a meaningful impact on Russian business that has economic, corporate and other ties with foreign entities. That said, lawmakers were apparently guided by the principle of “leave no one behind” and addressed practically everyone, since the provisions we will examine here will affect not only persons with ties to so-called “unfriendly entities,” but also residents of other foreign states.

Since August of 2023, businesses have had to adapt to the fact that Russia has suspended double tax treaties with a number of foreign states. Although suspension of double tax treaties is not provided for by the international treaty itself, the suspension was ordered by a Decree of the Russian President (Presidential Decree No.585 dated August 8, 2023, hereinafter “Decree 585”), as we wrote earlier.

As a follow-up to our previous reviews, here is the latest on the changes in the frozen asset exchange mechanism.