Dear AmCham members:
We are happy to report that AmCham St. Pete Taxation Committee‘s recent efforts to improve the investment climate in Leningrad Oblast have been successful. As a result of these efforts on May 31, two new laws - "On profit tax rates for the institutions investing in Leningrad Oblast" and "On changes to the Oblast law ‘On state support for investment activities in Leningrad Oblast‘" - passed the Oblast Legislative Assembly in three readings and YESTERDAY they were signed by Governor Serdyukov. The adopted laws guarantee that investors WILL get profit tax rate reduced down to 13%.
For more information on the nature of the story, please see http://www.lenoblzaks.ru/content/news/default.asp?shmode=2&ida=1119, Russian only).
I wanted to thank once more the co-chairs of the Taxation Committee Natalia Sherbakova (PricewaterhouseCoopers) and Ivan Smirnov (Ernst & Young), and the Executive Committee members Larry Booker (International Paper), Maxim Kalinin (Baker & McKenzie), Slava Vlasov (PricewaterhouseCoopers) for their constructive efforts in resolving this important legal issue. We also appreciate greatly the input of the working group members: Sergey Spasenov (Caterpillar), Marina Balabanova (Philip Morris), Oleg Kukin (Kraft Foods), Elena Safonova (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Artem Vasyutin (Deloitte), Peter Arnett (KPMG), Ruslan Vasutin (Ernst & Young).
And finally... our CONGRATULATIONS to the Oblast investors!!!!
AmCham will always be happy to advocate its member‘s interests in the region in future!
Best regards,
Maria Chernobrovkina,
Executive Director
St. Petersburg Chapter
American Chamber of Commerce in Russia
tel: +7-812-326-2590
fax: +7-812-326-2591
e-mail: mchernobrovkina@amcham.ru