Russia suspends tax deals with unfriendly countries, including Italy

  Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree suspending agreements to avoid double taxation with 38 countries, including Italy. The provision concerns countries considered enemies. Only Malta and Japan are excluded. According to the decree, the decision was taken "on the basis of the need to adopt urgent measures" in relation to the hostile actions of some countries. The validity of the documents listed in the decree is suspended "until foreign states eliminate the violations they committed of the legitimate economic and other interests of the Russian Federation, the rights of its citizens and legal entities" or until the relevant documents cease to be valid. At the same time, the government is mandated to take measures to reduce the impact on the economy of the Russian Federation of the consequences of the suspension of the aforementioned tax treaties. In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers is expected to submit a bill on the suspension of such documents to the State Duma.

The Russian Foreign Ministry is in charge of notifying foreign states of the decision. In particular, the decree suspends certain articles of the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion on income and capital of 1992, the Convention between the Governments of the Russian Federation and the United States for the avoidance of double taxation of 1994, the Agreement between the Governments of the Russian Federation and Canada on the avoidance of double taxation of 1995, the Agreement of the Russian Federation with Switzerland on the avoidance of double taxation of 1995, as well as tax documents with the Republic Czech, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Finland, France, Germany, Spain and other non-friendly countries. Russia's defense minister described the Europeans' alignment with Ukraine and the US act in supplying cluster munitions to Kiev as a war crime.

The war in Ukraine continues with all its consequences. European and Western countries, especially the USA, by intensifying the pressure of sanctions against the Russian Federation and supplying Kiev with all kinds of light and heavy weapons, not only did not take a step towards ending the war in Ukraine, but also also fueled the fire of conflicts in this country. Sergei Shoigu, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, today (Wednesday) expressed concern about Poland's military spending and the sale of a large amount of Western weapons to this country, according to RT news agency. During a speech to the heads of the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Shoigu said that the entire West was waging a proxy war against his country: "The US has committed a war crime by supplying munitions and cluster bombs to Ukraine , which are prohibited by international law."".

Referring to the total military aid of NATO, the European Union and other countries to Ukraine, which is more than 160 billion dollars, he explained: "Ukraine has received hundreds of tanks, more than 4 thousand armored vehicles , more than a thousand auto vehicles since February 2022. The highest received dozens of missile launchers and air defense systems from the West.Russian Defense Minister said NATO member states are actively supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighters US-made and said: "Western supplies to change the battlefield rules in their favor create serious risks for the further escalation of the conflict."