Deoffshorization of the Financial System of the Russian Federation: The Concept, Goals, and Current Directions of Implementation

Abstract

The lack of a uniform, systematic  and formalized  approach to understanding  the process of deoffshorization of the financial system in the Russian Federation, its goals, current state and development directions leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of countering the use of offshore companies and harms public interests. At the same time, the importance of deoffshorization measures cannot be underestimated: they can significantly increase budget revenues, «saturate» the economy with monetary (including credit and investment) resources, and make transparent the system of ownership of financial and non-financial assets in the territory of the Russian Federation and abroad. However, it has to be stated that deoffshorization as a public management and regulatory activity has not been systematically understood either in official state acts or in research sources to date. The purpose of this study is to research deoffshorization as a financial and legal category and an economic phenomenon, to form a scientific definition of the term «deoffshorization,» to determine its current goals and current directions of implementation. Analytical and comparative legal methods were used in the study. As a result, from the standpoint of the science of financial law, the author gives the definition of the term «deoffshorization,» highlights its main goals (countering the use of offshore companies for tax evasion; repatriation of monetary and non-monetary assets from abroad to the Russian jurisdiction; ensuring the attractiveness of using the national currency of the Russian Federation for the purpose of accumulation/preservation of capital) and the directions of their practical implementation: 1) adjustment of double taxation agreements, as well as implementation of an international initiative to establish a global minimum corporate tax; 2) redomicilation in the Russian Federation of foreign organizations controlled by Russian beneficiaries; 3) implementation of a set of measures to ensure a stable ruble exchange rate and its use in international trade.