Sports functionary

As told RBC source in the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), Alisher Usmanov, has ceased to be tax resident in Russia, as the country had a smaller part of 2015. The Federal Tax Service (FTS) on its web site explained that the taxation of income of natural persons does not depend on their nationality: resident in a calendar year are the persons who during the year were in Russia for at least 183 days.

Usmanov declaration of income for the last must be submitted before April 1, then we can talk about the status of a non-resident on the documents; in this case on the fact of Usmanov continues to do business in Russia, the source said.

The representative of USM Holdings, the parent structure for Usmanov's assets, RBC confirmed that the businessman really spent "significant time" in 2015 abroad - in Switzerland, Monaco, Germany, Italy and other countries. It is connected with sports activities Usmanov, in which he is actively involved, the source explained RBC: businessman is president of the International Fencing Federation, a member of the International Commissionth Olympic Committee (IOC) for the development of the Olympic Channel.

USM employee assured that the possible tax nerezidentstvo will not affect the business USM: Usmanov has not engaged in operational activities of the companies belonging to it. "Over the past few years [Usmanov] paid about $ 350 million in taxes in Russia [as the natural persons]", - said the representative of a businessman and member companies of the USM, only in 2015 - about 100 billion rubles. (Approximately $ 1.6 billion at the average exchange rate of the Central Bank for the 2015 th). For example, the operator "MegaFon» (USM controls 56.32%) declared that only the first nine months of 2015 the amount of the dividend amounted to almost 40 billion rubles.

Mysterious commission

In late September YUTV media holding, which are the main beneficiaries of Alisher Usmanov and Ivan Tavrin, agreed to buy 75% of the operating business of TV company "CTC Media" (STS channels, "Home", "Che" and CTC Love) for $ 193.1 million. In the this deal, as reported by RBC, required coordination in the government Commission on foreign investment. Then two sources RBC to the FAS and the government explainedthe need for such coordination that Usmanov has ceased to be a tax resident of the Russian Federation. The FAS press service refused to explain why the purchase was seen as foreign investment.

According to the legislation, the purchaser may be recognized by a foreign investor, if he is a foreign national, a stateless person, a person with dual citizenship or a citizen of the Russian Federation, but not its tax resident (the latter follows from Part 9 of Article 2 of the 57-FZ "On the Procedure for Foreign Investment in Business Entities of strategic importance for National defense and state security ").

In December 2015 the Commission approved the application of "YUTV-Management" deal with "CTC Investments", as well as a petition Usmanov to buy 60% of "new media holding" - the structure, which has become a holding group YUTV. Now, according to the register, Usmanov owns 53.05% of "New Media Holding", and the remaining 46.95% is owned by Tavrin.

Anti- offshore tax

As explained by RBC senior lawyer Herbert Smith Freehills Sergey Eremin, Russian cashOgooue Russian residents pay taxes on their income received throughout the world, and non-residents - only on income from sources in Russia (for example, dividends from Russian companies or salary for work in Russia). Non-residents pay Russian taxes at a higher rate than residents - 30% against 13%. In addition, he said Eremin, non-residents can not use the benefits by Russian agreements on avoidance of double taxation, while the residents usually can.

Since January 1, 2015, Russia enacted a law on controlled foreign companies (CICs): Now until April 1, the Russians must notify the tax authorities of their presence in a company share of more than 10%. If the share of over 50%, while the profit of the company for more than 50 million rubles. (. From 1 January 2016 - if more than 25%, and 30 million rubles), will have to pay additional taxes: 20% for companies and 13% for individuals.

However, the law only applies to the Russian tax residents. In this regard, as previously I wrote RBC, many businessmen, who do not want to comply with this law, seek to change tax residentTVO. A source in the board RSPP Bureau told RBC in December that tax consultants and the "Big Four" auditors inundated with customers asking about the search for "the best jurisdictions."

But Usmanov, on the contrary, should be announced by Vladimir Putin, the rate at deofshorizatsiyu in December 2014 USM reported on the transfer of its key assets in the Russian holding company - controlling stake "Megaphone" and holding company "Metalloinvest" of the Cyprus offshore company passed into the possession of the Russian "AF Telecom Holding "and" Metalloinvest YueSeM "respectively.

Asset Mail.Ru Group, in which Usmanov owns 15.2%, has this year, "Internet company Meyl.ru" (in this case it belongs to Mail.Ru Group Limited, registered in the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus and MGL). As previously wrote "Izvestia", now giving a report about the owners, Mail.Ru Group may indicate that their parent is a Russian legal entity - the scheme does not contradict the requirements of the law Anti- offshore.

Who goes from Russia

According to Forbes magazine on Aprill 2015, 17 billionaires from the Russian list is not a tax resident in Russia, including a member of the Board of Directors of Novatek Gennady Timchenko, the owner of SPI Group Yuri Scheffler, president of the company Inteco Management Yelena Baturina, the former head of Bank of Moscow Andrey Borodin, managing partner of Vaizra and co-founder of "VKontakte" Vyacheslav Mirilashvili and former shareholder of "BRIC" and "Silvinit" Dmitry Rybolovlev.

Forbes explained that due to the law of some Anti- offshore business in 2015 decided to abandon the tax residency in Russia - in particular, the shareholders of "Alfa-Group" Mikhail Fridman and Alexei Kuzmichev: she "Alfa" is denied. Others have figured out how to re-register foreign companies to relatives or trusted persons who are not residents. So, managing shareholder of Rambler & Co Alexander Mamut turned their foreign assets in a separate trust, who has drawn on their minor children of non-resident, and Arkady Rotenberg has sold assets that he owned through offshore companies, his son Igor.