State Duma deputy Anatoly Wasserman drafted a bill obliging citizens to notify the tax office if they keep more than 1 million rubles in cash at home. In this respect informs interfax.
“The possession of cash in rubles or foreign currency equal to or more than 1 million rubles without notifying the tax authority, including indicating the origin of the funds, is punishable by a fine of twice the illegally stored funds; as well as the confiscation of all illegally stored funds,” the draft document stated.
In the explanatory note, the proposal is explained by the fact that large amounts of cash from citizens in the house, as a rule, arise as a result of activities in the “shadow and even” black “sector of the economy.” In this respect, they now require special attention and control, as keeping money in the house is not regulated in any way in the legal field.
It is clarified that tax residents will need to notify the tax authorities at the place of registration in the form of the Federal Tax Service, within a week after receiving a large amount of money.
“The notification can be presented in different ways according to the citizens’ choice: directly through the tax office itself; by mail with confirmation of receipt and description of the attachment; online using an electronic signature; through the taxpayer’s personal account, ”says the explanatory note.
It is recommended that the initiative be implemented with the help of amendments to the Criminal Code. In particular, a new article 187.1 “Illegal circulation of funds” could be introduced.
Wasserman explained his proposal by saying that banning the irresponsible storage of more than 1 million rubles in cash would be an effective measure to combat corruption and financing of extremist activities.
As the deputy told SHOT, the case against journalist Ksenia Sobchak prompted him to develop the bill.
“During the next wave of rebellion, it was found that Ksenia Anatolyevna Sobchak had sums wrapped in envelopes – a total of about one and a half million euros. This money was withdrawn and the wave of unrest began to subside. There is reason to believe that mass riots were financed through this,” Wasserman said.
He added that there are many examples of cash financing of various illegal acts. The parliamentarian admitted that he kept at home no more than 50-100 thousand rubles.
The incident with Ksenia Sobchak, mentioned by Wasserman, occurred in June 2012 after protests in Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square. Sobchak at that time supported the protests, and a criminal case was opened in connection with the riots in Bolotnaya. In this context, searches were carried out in the journalist’s apartment on Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street. Investigators later found 1.5 million euros in the safe.
The media later reported that the currency was placed in envelopes. Some of them had signatures like “For the event in Kazan”. Sobchak later explained that it was his personal money. They were later returned to him.
Current Russian legislation does not provide for any restrictions on the storage of cash at home or elsewhere: neither in volume nor in currency. In other words, one can hide it “under the pillow” as much as he wants. Also, unless these funds are part of a criminal case or a tax (or other supervisory) audit, they are not required to disclose their source.
Oleg Savchenko, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Financial Market Committee declarationThat you don’t support Wasserman’s idea.
“I definitely take it negatively. Because citizens have the right to choose how the funds for which taxes are paid will be used. “I don’t see any reason to restrict this right,” he said.
Deputy Nikolai Arefiev said that it is almost impossible to monitor exactly how citizens form their savings. And they have the right to hold the money in any form, and no one has the right to force them.
“I don’t even know where this idea came from. Over the past year, individuals have taken three trillion rubles out of the country and the government has not restricted their exports in any way. Now even the foreign exchange export rate is up to $1 million a month. It turns out the government doesn’t need this money, so why are you limiting individuals?” ? Arefiev said.