US extends permission to pay taxes in Russia

The US Treasury Department has extended a permit that allows Americans to pay taxes, fees, and import duties in Russia, according to an updated general license distributed by the department on Thursday.

Washington previously imposed a reporting requirement on US nationals in possession or control of property in which Russian financial institutions had an interest.

The new order states that “US persons, or entities owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a US person, are authorized to pay taxes, fees, or import duties, and purchase or receive permits, licenses, registrations, or certifications… provided such transactions are ordinarily incident and necessary to the day-to-day operations in the Russian Federation of such US persons or entities, through 12:01am eastern standard time, November 8, 2023.” 

The general license noted that it does not authorize any debit to an account on the books of a US financial institution of the Bank of Russia, the National Wealth Fund, or the Ministry of Finance.

It also banned “any transactions otherwise prohibited by the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations (RuHSR)… including transactions involving any person blocked pursuant to the RuHSR, unless separately authorized.”

The license comes into force on August 10, replacing and superseding the previous one from May 19.

The US has targeted Russia’s financial and banking sectors as part of wide-ranging sanctions imposed over Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. The measures have affected trade, energy exports, investment, finance, and tourism, among other spheres of the Russian economy. They have also seen hundreds of Russian individuals blacklisted, and roughly half of Russia’s foreign currency reserves frozen.

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