State Duma ratifies denouncement of tax agreement with Netherlands
MOSCOW. May 11 (Interfax) - The State Duma at a session on Tuesday voted to terminate the agreement on avoidance of double taxation with the Netherlands.
It was reported earlier that Russia had held several rounds of negotiations with the Finance Ministry of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on amending the agreement in terms of increasing the withholding tax rate on dividends and interest to 15%. Russia proposed terms corresponding to those already coordinated with Cyprus, Luxembourg, and Malta; however, the negotiations were unsuccessful.
"The existing tax agreement with the Netherlands envisages fairly attractive tax conditions and makes it possible to withdraw profit from Russia with tax payment at an effective rate of 2-3%, while the corresponding rate in Russia is far higher - for example, for legal entities, 15% on dividends and 20% on interest," the Finance Ministry said in a letter.