Moscow slams EU decision to list Russia as 'noncooperative' on taxes

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Feb 00:14

Following this designation by the EU council, Russia will be subject to the member states' administrative and legal actions.

A welcome to European Union sign stands at the closed border crossing between Poland and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast, in Goldap, Poland, Thursday, July 7, 2022 (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)

The Russian finance ministry said on Tuesday that the EU decision to add Russia to the "black list" of tax jurisdictions was made without consulting Moscow; the grounds for this decision are unclear. It added that Moscow will continue to work on reforming Russian tax law.

"The decision to add Russia to the list of non-cooperating jurisdictions, the so-called 'black list' of the EU, was taken without consultation with us. We do not know the reasons for this decision," the statement says.

Following this designation by the EU council, Russia will be subject to the member states' administrative and legal actions.

"Each EU state can choose to apply at least one measure among the list of these two types, while the application of all measures from the specified list at the same time is not mandatory," the ministry said.

"For our part, we note that the process of improving Russian tax legislation will continue. As before, we will introduce tax innovations related to improving tax administration and protecting the tax base from erosion, obtained both on the basis of an analysis of global experience and as a result of our own developments. Ultimately, the quality of the tax system is assessed by taxpayers and tax administrations of those countries that continue to work with us, and we will rely on their feedback in further work," it added.

The EU Council today updated the list of jurisdictions that do not cooperate on tax issues to include Russia in addition to the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, and the Marshall Islands.

The statement indicates that the EU adds to the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions countries that don't adhere to "good tax administration" in their legal practices.

A committee of specialists reviewed the new Russian legislation in regard to establishing a special region for international holding companies back in 2022. Russia was added to the list after the Russian taxation policy in the offshore regions was assessed to fall short of the criteria for "good tax administration".