The Ministry of Finance should maintain the relevant state register of jurisdictions and types of offshore companies, UBR press-office reports.
In Ukraine a new type of duty (offshore) is planned to be introduced in Ukraine. This appears from regulations of two draft laws (№4380 and №4381), which was registered in the Verkhovna Rada by group of deputies.
First of them “On Tax Sovereignty of Ukraine and offshore companies” sets its goal to classify and describe offshores and those, who are related to them, in order “to discriminate offshore companies with taxes” by the second draft law on introduction of amendments to Tax Code, as the explanatory note says.
As a result of the simultaneous implementation of both projects their authors rely on obtaining UAH 68 bln within 12 months of existence of new regulations. What these estimates are based on remains a mystery.
The main tool of discrimination is the offshore state duty in the amount from 10% to 100% of the cost of asset or earned revenue (profit). However, for half of cases this state duty will perform the role of fine. For example, it will be required to pay 100% of the cost of privatized entity after such sale agreement will be acknowledged void, and the property will be returned to state or local community without returning money, spent on purchase. The similar mechanism is drawn up on cancellation of leasehold or concession.
The final beneficiaries of transaction should pay the state duty to local budgets (on place of registration of asset or payer). If they could not be established, then the Ministry of Finance should appoint other person as the beneficiary.
All the ideology of the draft law, dividing world into jurisdictions with full, partial or absent tax sovereignty, comes down to not allowing to the owners of offshore schemes to get at state property. Or budgetary funds or state aid in any form (public procurement, subsidies, guarantees for investors, share in public and private partnership etc).
That is, to exclude the possibility of participation of offshores or persons, associated with them, in making profit on all possible agreements with participation of even a share of state property or community. Even the participation in city development or contractor will require the submission of declaration on the non-offshore status of the person.
The final purpose is to stop using offshores for minimization of taxation or violation of rules of currency regulation.
In order to identify the offshores it is proposed to introduce new terms – anonymous company or anonymous person. That is, when it is not possible to identify them. In principle, the offshore can be acknowledged as any jurisdiction, which “insufficiently effectively” cooperates with taxmen of Ukraine in exchange of information.
The Ministry of Finance will maintain the relevant state register of offshore jurisdictions and types of offshore companies.
