Who can use the amnesty and for what purposes

– They say that because of the sanctions, the fourth wave will be more popular than the previous ones

— I agree, based on my 15 years of experience in this field. Sanctions make it increasingly difficult to own and dispose of foreign assets. Foreign structures are stalling, European banks refuse to work with our compatriots. On May 10, the EU and the acceding countries, including Switzerland, will stop providing trust services to Russian citizens.

— And what should the beneficiaries do with these trusts?

— “These trusts need to be disbanded and something done with the assets or transferred to other jurisdictions where they still operate. This is one of the important goals of the amnesty - to help the Russians disband foreign structures that cease to function. They can be transferred to Russia. Since March 1, 2021, a similar institution has appeared in Russian legislation - a personal fund

– What's new in the fourth stage?

– Another obvious reason for the popularity of the fourth wave of amnesty is the ability to declare cash, which was not there before. This is very convenient: it allows you to enter into transparent circulation funds from legitimate activities received in violation of cash transactions and tax payment rules. In addition, although the cryptocurrency is not directly specified in the regulations, the law offers a number of mechanisms for introducing income from crypto assets into legal circulation

– Who would you advise to think about capital amnesty?

– Those who may have risks under currency and tax laws. The same currency legislation we have is very complicated. Many break it without even realizing it. After all, prohibitions may not be obvious. For example, one Russian citizen buys a house in Italy from another and transfers money to him to a foreign account - this cannot be done, because the funds must be transferred through a Russian bank.

At the same time, fines for currency violations are huge, they can amount to 70-100% of the transaction amount. Amnesty is an opportunity to avoid them.

In addition, it can be used to declare indirect ownership if the company is listed at par (it is assumed that in foreign law). The state has created a mechanism that allows, after filing a special declaration, to transfer assets from face value to a real beneficiary without unnecessary tax issues. The special tax incentives introduced in March can also help with this.

On the freedom to dispose of assets, features of declarations and trust in the state

– One of the obligations of the declarant is the repatriation of funds. Does this mean that they should stay in Russia?

– It's a delusion. There are no restrictions on the further disposal of money. They can be taken from the bank, you can even return abroad.
By the way, if you open accounts for guarantees against currency violations, then it does not matter how much money is in these accounts. They may be few. The main thing is that these are the same accounts on which currency transactions were carried out.

– What are the features of filing declarations?

– The declaration is submitted once, it is impossible to submit a revised one later. Therefore, everything must be carefully considered. We begin with clients with an analysis of the situation: what prompted him to think about an amnesty, what he sees as risks for himself. We analyze accounts by operations and objects: how they were acquired, how income was received for the acquisition. Then we determine which objects and accounts exactly need to be disclosed, and for which assets there are no risks.

There is an opportunity to declare what has already been declared in the previous stages of the capital amnesty. This allows guarantees to be "updated" and extended to that time period. For example, in 2017 a person submitted a special declaration, in 2019 he underpaid tax, but if he submits another special declaration in 2022 with the appropriate content, then the guarantee will be valid.

– Where should I submit them?

– Special declarations are accepted by any tax inspections, although it makes sense to submit them immediately to the Central Office of the Federal Tax Service. There, these documents are stored in a special storage where they are not available to the territorial IFTS and can only be obtained at the request of the declarant.

– When you disclose assets to the state, it is an act of trust. But the Russian state is not always trusted. I recall the case of Valery Izrailit (the businessman was accused of fraud, withdrawal of funds and legalization, and a special declaration was attached to the criminal case. - Note ed.). What can you say about this and what advice do you have for clients?

– Of course, there is a problem of trust in the state. At the same time, information about the Izrailit case in open sources is incomplete, it is not entirely clear what position each side has. If a businessman tried to take advantage of the amnesty when he was already charged with violations, then the guarantees do not work, this is clearly provided for in the law.

In general, according to the Ministry of Finance, about 19,000 declarations have been filed. The cases of Valery Izrailit, Nikolai Kuragin (the beneficiary of the Vyatsky Kvass group of companies) are known. Perhaps these are exceptions that confirm that the rule works.

A person discloses property, receives guarantees - of course, there must be trust. And this is a difficult question. I advise clients to weigh the risks and benefits, this requires analysis. My clients had cases when a special declaration helped to remove claims for violations of currency laws.

Sergey Gerasimov is a Managing Partner of a law firm that brings together one of the largest practices in Russia for working on behalf of private clients in taxes and private structuring.

Sergey manages projects related to the development of personal holding structures for asset protection and inheritance, CFC, tax amnesty in Russia (all four waves), restructuring of operating business, tax-free liquidation of foreign companies, currency regulation and control. Sergey's personal professionalism and the achievements of his team have been recognized by authoritative international and Russian ratings: Chambers & Partners, International Tax Review (World Tax), The Legal 500, Best Lawyers, Pravo-300 and Forbes.

Read in the source Pravo.ru