Tax authorities are not averse to block the property of businessmen until the results of the check are clear

According to Vedomosti, citing sources in the Ministry of Finance, if tax officials suspect that an entrepreneur is evading taxes, new tough sanctions may be applied to him. The government intends to establish them “according to a certain risk-oriented approach”.

This measure is due to the fact that now, after the start of the tax audit, the unscrupulous "dodgers" have time to sell all the property, withdraw capital and go bankrupt.

“The initiative is aimed at curbing this practice”, - Kommersant reports.

To avoid the withdrawal of assets before the completion of the audit, they want to block the property of businessmen suspected of tax evasion.

Thus, officials intend to deprive entrepreneurs of tax evasion loopholes.

Earlier it was reported that due to the drop in budget revenues amid the coronavirus pandemic, taxes will be significantly increased for a number of business areas in the country, and in some industries, existing tax incentives will be reduced.

Obviously, the ability to freeze assets at your own discretion will increase the risk of arbitrariness and pressure on the business.

As Alexey Petropolsky, head of the bureau for the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs of the Moscow branch of Opory Rossii, commented on the situation with the blocking of assets "in one click", - the rights and powers of the Federal Tax Service are already sufficient.

“By itself, bankruptcy means that within three years before bankruptcy, the bankruptcy administrator, together with the tax authorities and creditors, can challenge any transaction, any alienation of property rights, any contracts of sale and return the money. But this also has to be done. This requires experienced lawyers, sufficient time. The process, I agree, is not simple. The Ministry of Finance, together with the Federal Tax Service, wants to make it so that one click to seize money unilaterally, and even block / seize real estate. This will lead to more tax abuse and more bankruptcies. And business in Russia will feel even worse”, - the expert said in an interview with Sputnik radio.

According to Petropolsky, the authorities should strive not to expand the powers of the Federal Tax Service, but to effectively use the opportunities that already exist.