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About Alinga | |
 12.11.08
Welcome from Alinga! The Western press has been publishing a slew of articles indicating that a weakening ruble and plummeting oil and stock prices will mean financial and political turmoil for Russia. The Russian press has reported that some people are withdrawing money from banks and buying dollars, but seems overall to indicate that Russia is still a safe financial haven. Life on the ground for most businesses is something in between these two extreme images – the real question is how to keep one's particular business safe in the current turbulence.
Alinga has put together this Market Update and its most recent Business Breakfast with your business in mind. Market Update brings you extensive information on the current legal, accounting, taxation, HR, and business news. Our Business Breakfast will bring you face-to-face with panels of professionals and business practitioners currently weathering this crisis with you – and who also weathered the 1998 crisis and came out with successful business. We hope you'll find both useful and informative.
If you have comments, questions, or suggestions on other ways we can improve our site and newsletter, please contact the editor at jwilson@acg.ru! To subscribe to this newsletter, send an email with "Subscribe Alinga" in the subject field to jwilson@acg.ru.
Alinga Consulting Group is planning another Business Breakfast, this time on "Doing Business in Russia in the Face of Global Uncertainty." Register now for a 1000 RUR discount to speak with panels of tax, legal, and business experts about the current situation and what it might mean for your business. Find out more!
Alinga Market Update Now In Print! Alinga announces its first print edition of the Alinga Market Update! If you have not already received a free copy from us, write to us at jwilson@acg.ru. The first 100 requests will receive a free subscription mailed to anywhere within the Russian Federation. Our first print edition dealt with Real Estate in Russia. Our next edition will look at Foreigners in Russia, examining the obligations and rights of foreign individuals, organizations, and businesses operating or working within Russia.
Taxation Of Gifts Is Up To The Individual When an organization gives gifts to individuals (i.e. for anniversaries and other memorable dates), it is not the tax agent for the value received by the individual, and the taxpayer must voluntarily calculate Personal Income Tax.
Tax officers fined a businessman for late filing of his declaration on Unified Tax on Imputed Income.
New License Demands Changes In Accounting Policy When organization receives a new business license, changes to the organization's accounting policy may be introduced starting with the fiscal period in which the license was obtained.
There is much more "Accounting and Payroll" information available in the Russian version of this same newsletter!
Review Of Recent Changes To Tax-Related Legislation In The Russian Federation This monthly Russian-language service from Alinga and regular feature of the Alinga Market Update is designed to bring your financial personnel a broad view of recent changes to the Russian Tax Code. Forward this link to them!
FTS Explains How Not To Do Business The Federal Tax Service has published an addendum to their list of eleven "Financial and Operating Activities with High Tax Risks" on their official site.
The Government Places A Larger Social Tax On Businesses Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared that the Unified Social Tax will be abolished in 2010, to be replaced by insurance premium payments.
Business Suffers Severe Losses Russia's Ministry of Economic Development and it's Ministry of Finance promise to develop a package of measures before the end of 2008 to compensate companies that will affected by the replacement of Unified Social Tax.
Tax Inspection Denies Companies Registration In Moscow, Tax Inspection #46, the office with jurisdiction over Moscow, is denying registrations en masse for legal entities.
Auditing To Become Self-Regulating Profession The State Duma received a draft revision of the law "On Auditing," which proposes to cancel licensing regulations starting July 1, 2009.
Tax Officers In Moscow Search For Firms Which Used The Crisis To Their Advantage A poll of Moscow's tax inspectors has shown that they adjusted their methods in light of the crisis.
Russia's Ministry of Finance (MinFin) is against the restoration of profit tax benefits for investments, according to deputy minister Sergey Shatalov.
Translation Of Technical Documents For Foreign Companies Is Subject To VAT Translation of technical documents done by a Russian organization in Russia for a foreign company is subject to VAT in accordance with the standard procedure.
Tax Authorities Explain Order Of VAT Payments By Installments Russia's Federal Tax Service explained procedure for installments of VAT payments according to the Federal Law # 172.
Number Of Tax Disputes Drops 17 Percent Number of tax disputes dropped by 17% over the past year.
Companies Abandon Courts In Tax Disputes Russia's largest companies are going to court less frequently in tax disputes, the Russian division of Ernst & Young found in research on the country's tax climate.
Interest On Foreign Currency Credits And Profit Tax Foreign exchange differences (whether positive or negative) that affect the repayment of debt and interest on debts issued in a foreign currency must be accounted for tax purposes.
Revenues that foreign organizations received from employees' forfeiture of intellectual rights to the employer are subject to profit tax of 20%.
Common Violations In Currency Exchange Alexander Kulikov, an accountant with Alinga, has here systematized information to help your professionals avoid some of the most common violations.
"Antisocial" Business Transactions In Arbitration Practice Article 169 of Russia's Civil Code gives the government the power to reverse "antisocial transactions" (defined as "transactions conducted with predetermined purposes contrary to the fundamental principles of the legal system or moral standards"). This article is presented in Russian. Email this link to your legal department.
MinFin Changes Its View On Registration Fees Ministry of Finance re-examined an enquiry regarding payment of state tax for registration of an "Agreement of Participation in the Shared Construction of an Apartment Building."
The Federation Council has proposed that the government develop a law "On Lobbying Activities in the Russian Federation" and introduce it into the State Duma.
Law On Strategic Industries Reaches To Highest Ranks Of Russian Business One hundred days has passed since the Federal Antimonopoly Service began enforcing the law on foreign investment in strategic industries and the first meeting of the governmental committee lead by Vladimir Putin is to take place.
Authorities To Fight Corruption Of Authorities In Russia Judging by the president's package of counter-corruption bills submitted to the State Duma, fighting corrupt practices in Russia means tougher control over the bureaucrats of civil state service and local authorities.
Ex-Officials Stay Out Of Biz For 2 Yrs Among the anticorruption measures introduced into the State Duma by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is one to place a two-year "quarantine" on officials who want to leave the civil service and enter the business world.
New Anti-Corruption Laws Allow Broader Property Confiscation Measures New anti-corruption laws allow a broader use of confiscation in respect to property obtained by illegal methods.
Money-Laundering Through Russian Banks At 'Shocking' Levels The damage done to Russia's economy by the illegal conversion of funds into cash and by money-laundering runs into hundreds of billions of rubles.
Find Job Vacancies Here Find Employees Here
Minimum Wage To Rise To 8,300 Rubles It is expected that starting January 1, 2009 minimum wage in Moscow will reach 8,300 rubles.
Staff Use Of Cell Phones Will Increase Taxes If an organization enters into an agreement with a cellular operator, and the mobile communication services are used directly by the organization's staff through the use of their personal cell phones, and the company does not reimburse staff members for the charges, then the charges will be considered non-operating income for Russian accounting purposes.
Tax Incentives For Employee Training According to the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science, tax legislation concerning training and education expenses incurred by organizations will be revised on January 1, 2009.
There is much more HR information available in the Russian version of this same newsletter!
Economic News In Review: Crisis, Commentary And International Outlook A review of some of the major English-language commentary concerning the current financial crisis in Russia, how it might affect Russia's government and ruling structure, and what the international outlook is for Russian business.
Economic News In Review: Sectors, Consumer Spending, Bailout Plans The following resource is meant to quickly introduce the reader to some of Russia's major economic sectors and consumer spending in this time of world economic uncertainty.
Presidential Address To The Federal Assembly By President Dmitry Medvedev President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev proposed giving the Russian Federal Assembly (parliament) greater constitutional powers.
Obama has been working to improve the clarity of vision for relations with the Russians. Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, was released in Russian translation and his foreign policy advisor, Mike McFaul, met with various Russian officials in Moscow. While this article was written shortly before the election, it does help to flesh out what Obama's policy toward Russia might be and the political importance of Americans living overseas.
Foreign Worker Quotas Increased The Russian government decided to increase the quota for the admission of foreign workers again – to 1.5 million.
Calculating Personal Income Tax For Foreigners When a foreign national leaves Russia on a short business trip, the length of his stay outside of Russia will not be included when calculating the time he was in Russia for determining his personal income tax status.
Foreign Law Firms Expect To Do More Business In Russia, Despite Financial Crisis Quite a few foreign law firms expect their business to pick up in Russia and believe that the number of law suits will increase due to the financial crisis.
Govt Calls For Calm, People Take Cash Out Of Banks, Fear Job Loss The Russian authorities keep advising the nation to stay calm despite the world financial turmoil, but the average citizens seem to be ever more active in withdrawing cash from private banks. They are also afraid of losing jobs.
The Russian Business and Entrepreneurship Union ctiticizes anti-crisis measures. The powers-that-be pay no heed to businesses.
Russia's Ministry of Regional Development has approved a new rating of regional competitiveness known as "IRPEX".
Bank Asks Clients To Pay Off Mortgages Midsized lender RosEvroBank has asked clients to pay back their mortgages right away rather than risk the prospect of real estate prices falling 30 percent.
Have questions on any issue above? Ask the Expert! More about services from Alinga Consulting Group
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Next Business Breakfast Announced
This article is presented in Russian. 
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