City Consults With Investors On New Tax Concessions Law

New documents designed to support large-scale investment are being prepared by KUGI, the State Property Committee. They are the logical continuation of the three investment bills already being examined by the Legislative Assembly.

<BR>New documents designed to support large-scale investment are being prepared by KUGI, the State Property Committee. They are the logical continuation of the three investment bills already being examined by the Legislative Assembly.<BR>The new legislation is claimed to be unique in Russia, representing an attempt to merge two methods currently practised: concessions from the point of investment, and concessions from the start of production.<BR>The legislation will stipulate a standard recoupment period, during which tax concessions will be available to large investors.<BR>The deployment of marketing strategies started even before the legislation was presented to the Legislative Assembly. The idea was to have the laws discussed in business circles. Among others, the American Business Cooperation Center assisted the project. The text of the laws was translated into English and placed on a public Internet site. <BR>Another method of notifying investors was the organization of round tables (two have already taken place), discussing the legislation with business representatives. Potential investors are fairly wary of voicing their opinion. "I don't want anyone to get the impression that we are satisfied with the legislation," says Nikolai Sivach, president of the Joint Enterprises Association, "we are not in ecstasy over the documents."