Russia and Cyprus signed a protocol on the avoidance of double taxation between the countries. The document was signed by the State Secretary - Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia Alexey Sazanov and Minister of Finance of Cyprus Konstantinos Petridis. The ceremony took place as part of the visit of the Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Nicosia.

"The protocol defines a list of exceptions, according to which the application of a preferential treatment for income in the form of dividends and interest will be provided, setting the tax rate at no more than 5%," the Ministry of Finance of Russia said in a statement.

      Exceptions are provided "for institutional investments, as well as for public companies, at least 15% of which are in free float, and owning at least 15% of the capital of the company that pays the specified income during the year." The ratification of the protocol should take place by the end of 2020, the provisions of the protocol will begin to apply from January 1, 2021.

      The day before, on September 7, the government approved and published a draft protocol on changing the tax agreement with Cyprus. The document was developed on behalf of President Vladimir Putin. The Ministry of Finance was instructed to negotiate with the Cypriot side and sign an agreement. According to the Ministry of Finance, if the new agreement is applied, the annual additional revenues to the Russian budget will amount to 150 billion rubles. Similar protocols are planned to be signed with Malta, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

 

Sources: https://www.kommersant.ru