Alliance for Tax, Legal, and Accounting Seminars
&
Structured Finance Institute

• Profits tax 24% (can be reduced by 4% by regions); split between budgets; federal – 6.5%, regional 17.5%, local 0%
• VAT – 18% (0% on exports, 10% on children’s goods, medical products)
• Individual income tax – 13% for tax residents (based on 183 days test) – 30% for non-residents
• Unified social tax – regressive rates changing from 26% to 2% (lowest rate applies for wages over approximately $25,500)

Alexander Chmelev, Baker & McKenzie, Moscow
Arseny Seidov, Baker & McKenzie, Moscow

2. Recent Tax Issues in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan
A 30-page handout

• New tax code expected
• Tax harmonization with WTO and EU requirements
• Transfer pricing legislation to become more sophisticated

Hennadiy Voytitskyi, Baker McKenzie, Kyiv office
Igor Kolupayev, Baker McKenzie, Almaty office
Aykan Asadov, Baker McKenzie, Baku office

3. U.S. Tax Issues for U.S. Companies Doing Business in Russia
A 45-page handout

• Choice of a Russian entity and its characterization for U.S. tax purposes
• U.S. taxation of Russian operations
• Sourcing of income and allocation and apportionment of expenses
• The foreign tax credit
• Acquisitions and dispositions of Russian entities owned by U.S. persons

Elena Mossina, Baker & McKenzie, Chicago

4. Economic and Political Climate Change for Doing Business in Russia
A 19-page handout

• 2008 economic update
• 2008 political update
• Current political climate & reforms and recent elections
• Current investment climate and effect on multinationals
• Russia’s WTO Accession

Helen Teplitskaia, American-Russian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Washington, DC

5. Trends in Russian Commercial Dispute Resolution
A 12-page handout

• General jurisdiction courts
• Courts of arbitrage
• Alternatives dispute resolution

Ilya Shkarinov, City Law Group, Moscow

6. Exporting to Russia or Importing from Russia – Things You Need to Know
A 20-page handout

• Customs issues in Russia
• Export controls and incentives
• Structuring marketing and distribution relationships in Russia
• Issues in shipping products out of Russia
• Financial issues involved in Russian export/import

Alexander Bychkov, Moscow

7. Structuring and Setting up a Business in Russia, Acquisitions and, Joint Ventures
A 10-page handout

• Operating without legal presence in Russia
• Offices in Russia
• Subsidiary companies
• Acquisition of Russian companies
• Joint ventures

Arthur George, Baker & McKenzie, Chicago

• Principle business and political risks of doing business in Russia
• Using insurance to mitigate political risks to foreign direct investments in Russia
• Use the government project finance, export finance, non-recourse finance and insurance

Stephen Kay, AIG Global Trade & Political Risk, New York

9. Protecting Your Intellectual Property Rights in Russia
A 22-page handout

• What is protected
• Tips on Russian IP system
• Part of the civil code
• Positive changes
• Areas of concern
• IP rights of enforcement

Denis Khabarov, Baker & McKenzie, Moscow

10. Structure and Trends of the Russian Legal and Judicial System
A 14-page handout

• Structure
• Judicial independent guarantees
• Influence of central and local judicial agencies
• The history of judicial reform
• Judicial statistics

Svetlana Busheva, City Law Group, Moscow

11. Important Employment Law Considerations for Operations in Russia
An 11-page handout

• An employment agreement
• No employment at will
• HR administration is bureaucratic, formalistic, paper intensive
• Non-compete provisions after termination are not enforceable

Arthur George, Baker & McKenzie, Chicago

12. U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): Issues for Investors in Russia
A 25-page handout

• International headlines
• Trends in FCPA enforcement
• FCPA anti-bribery provisions
• FCPA accounting provisions
• Captive resellers
• Charitable contributions

Lina Braude, Baker & McKenzie

13. Investment into Key Economy Sectors
A 50-page handout

• Financial performance
• Problematics of development of foreign investment
• The new law – an obstacle or a solution
• Conclusion

Cyril E. Geacintov, DRG International, Mountainside, NJ