Senior tax consultant of TC Ivan Tsvetkov commented on the results of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and business proposals to the tax amnesty on splitting in the article «Kommersant».

At a meeting of the Tax Expert Council of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), the parameters of an amnesty for businesses using split schemes were discussed. Among the wishes are the mechanism of independent disclosure of split schemes by business, moratorium on criminal liability for non-payment of taxes and retrospective nature of the amnesty. 

The expert noted that the proposals reflect the general mood and wishes of taxpayers: the actual abolition of any consequences for tax offenses, as well as a moratorium on criminal prosecution under the relevant articles. 

This is understandable and logical, but in addition to the very essence of the amnesty are important conditions under which a taxpayer may qualify for such a "bonus". For example, one of such conditions, in addition to the unconditional disclosure of all affiliates in the group, may be a sum threshold for damage to the budget (there is a huge difference between damage of 1 million and 1 billion). 

Also, the question remains open: should amnesty equalize persons who split up in the presence of any explainable business purpose and persons who evidently evaded taxes by redistributing the proceeds to affiliated persons, relatives, and so on? That is, is the presence of direct intent important?

It is necessary to give a clear answer: will the amnesty be extended to future periods? After all, the absence of any restrictions and total exemption from tax and criminal law consequences may provoke a wave of abuse. Therefore, the options proposed by the business community need to be finalized.

The Tax Compliance team will continue to follow the developments on the amnesty issue in our blog on the website and Telegram channel.