On 28 May Maxima Legal, in conjunction with the Northwest Branch of the ATON Investment Company and Gregory Rowcliffe Milners LLP (London), held a business seminar entitled “Deoffshorization and Capital Amnesty: New Approaches to the Structuring of Business” in the conference hall of the Corinthia Hotel.

The moderator was Oleg Puntusov, Director of the ATON Investment Company’s Northwest Branch. The speakers were Vladimir Kilinkarov, a Maxima Legal partner and Head of the International Investments Group, Elena Kilinkarova, adviser and Head of Maxima Legal’s Tax Department, and representatives of GRM Law – Alper Deniz, Managing Partner, and Konstantin Osipov, Head of the Russian Desk.

As Vladimir Kilinkarov remarks, “the seminar discussed two very pressing problems – the amnesty of capital and the restructuring of business in the light of amendments to the Russian Federation Tax Code passed on the third reading on 22 May concerning controlled foreign companies and the criteria for residency. The date chosen for the seminar turned out to be apposite, as less than a week had passed since the adoption of the law on the voluntary declaration of assets and the above-mentioned amendments to the Tax Code. It was pleasing to realize that our company was the first to be ready to discuss these matters with business in St. Petersburg”.

Vladimir’s speech on “Capital Amnesty – Main Provisions and Prospects of Realization” opened the seminar. He set out the essence of the programme in simple terms for the business community: what “capital amnesty” entailed, how its advantages could be used to maximum profit, what was covered by the amnesty and who could be a declarant. Those attending the event confirmed the urgencty of the matters raised and entered into an active dialogue, modelling the situation and analyzing specific examples.

Elena Kilinkarova spoke on “The New Rules on the Taxation of Controlled Foreign Companies and Other Key Changes in Tax Legislation within the Framework of the Policy on the Deoffshorization of the Russian Economy”. She concentrated on the new rules on taxation of income of controlled foreign companies and the new criteria on residency for tax purposes.

The last to speak were the event’s foreign guests – Alper Deniz, Managing Partner, and Konstantin Osipov, Head of the Russian Desk, from GRM LLP (London). Their subject was: “New Approaches to the Structuring of Business in the Conditions of Changing Tax Legislation”. They described possible ways and means of resolving the problems of taxation of controlled foreign companies in Russia.

Vladimir Kilinkarov summed up the seminar: “In spite of all the positive aspects of the programme of voluntary declaration of assets, it is unpleasant that it has all been done in a rush at the last minute, and specialists naturally have very serious observations to make on the amnesty law. And the time for analyzing it all and taking considered decisions is disastrously short – the 15^th June [the deadline for notifications of participation in foreign companies] is only two weeks away, and the law has still not even been signed by the President”.

A reminder that the Federal Law “On the Voluntary Declaration by Individuals of Assets and Accounts (Deposits) in Banks...”, passed by the State Duma in its third reading on 22 May 2015, requires individuals to voluntarily declare their assets and accounts (deposits) in foreign banks by submitting the relevant declaration to the tax authorities between 1 July and 31 December 2015. The declaration will then sealed and forwarded to the central Federal Tax Service. The declaration will be protected by a reinforced regime of secrecy: according to the law, nobody can gain access to it until you authorize it with the purpose of using the guarantees granted to you as a declarant.

What are these guarantees? In the first place, the declarant, the nominal owner, and persons fulfilling organizational, management or administrative functions (including directors and accountants) are exempted from criminal, administrative and tax responsibility. In addition, the information contained in the declaration cannot be used as the basis for bringing a criminal case or proceedings for administrative and (or) tax offences, or as evidence in a relevant case. These declarations cannot be used as the basis for carrying out tax checks or for charging additional tax as a result of such checks.

An important point is that operations to transfer property from its nominal owner to its actual owner, as well as income received as a result of such transfers, will be exempt from VAT, tax on profits and tax on personal income. Income in the form of assets of liquidated companies will also be exempt from tax.

“Kommersant” described the current situation in the retail market. As a result of the crisis shopping centres are obliged to think of ways of increasing consumer spending. Some alternatives are: optimization of space, changes in format, changes in pricing structure, changes in the scale of projects and even changes in tenants.

Evgeny Druzhinin, Head of Maxima Legal’s Real Estate and Construction Department, drew attention to the legal nuances arising from the replanning of a shopping centre. In his opinion, the scale and format of work planned by a developer can differ substantially in the amount of necessary permits and in the bodies issuing those permits, so in order that the reconstruction does not drag on for several years it is important to take a responsible approach to the choice and determination of the necessary procedures.

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Evgeny Druzhinin, Head of Maxima Legal’s Real Estate and Construction Department, commented on the boom in the revaluation service market in St. Petersburg.

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“Kommersant” canvassed lawyers in St. Petersburg about the particulars of the work of in-house specialists and legal consultants.

Vladimir Kilinkarov, a Maxima Legal partner, gave his views on the matter.

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The “My District” newspaper published the opinions of various experts in the creation, management and regulation of parks and other public open spaces. One of the contributors was Evgeny Druzhinin, Head of the Real Estate and Construction Department, who immediately emphasized the confusion and diversity in this area in St. Petersburg. Evgeny highlighted three overlapping legal strata in the city’s legislation: the rules on the use of land and construction, the legislation determined by the Committee on State Control, Use and Preservation of Monuments, and the legislation on specially protected natural areas, natural monuments and reserves.

The article highlighted the experience of such open spaces as the “Path of Health” in Pushkin and the Novoorlovsky Park, the Uppsala Park on Sverdlovskaya Embankment, the “Petrovsky Arsenal” in Sestroretsk, the “New Arena” project in the Murinsky Park and others.

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