(ANSAmed) - NICOSIA, NOVEMBER 12 - The Republic of Cyprus
will finally be removed from the Russian blacklist of
non-cooperative 'tax havens' from January 1, 2013, as Cyprus
Mail reports. According to Moscow-based online site,
www.tax-news.com, the Russian government has published an order
in the country's official gazette providing for the removal of
Cyprus from Russia's blacklist, starting next year, when a
double taxation agreement signed between the two countries comes
into force. The publication of the official order comes after
years of negotiations between the authorities of the two
countries, starting in 2008 when Cyprus was added to a blacklist
of 54 countries for reportedly failing to share tax information
with Russia. Many of Cyprus' competitors in attracting Russian
investment, such as Ireland, Luxembourg and Switzerland, lobbied
hard to get off the list which dictated the rules on tax
exemption for repatriated dividends from Russian subsidiaries in
foreign countries. However, negotiations between Cyprus and
Russia proved harder, with the latter leaning on Cyprus to
provide a greater level of tax information exchange. A protocol
was finally signed between the two countries in 2010 which will
come into effect in the new year. (ANSAmed).
