Russia’s State Duma Ratifies Russia-Cyprus Tax Treaty

The State Duma ratified a revised version of a double taxation treaty between Russia and Cyprus. The agreement does not threaten Russian business with information transfers with the Cypriot authorities, as this is currently only announced. The popular tax-avoidance scheme, in which Russian developers avoid taxes by routing real estate sales through Cypriot companies will be closed only in 2017. Cyprus will receive prompt benefits from the ratification as now Russia’s Ministry of Finance must remove it from its "black list" of offshore tax havens.