In the presidential message, it was actually announced the need to build a fundamentally new relationship between the country’s elite and Russian society. At the same time, the president formulated new requirements for this elite.
Firstly, the elite should reduce its income and begin to share wealth with Russian citizens. To do this, it is proposed to tie the level of remuneration of managers to the average wage of organizations personnel. Often, the heads of institutions have income several times higher than their subordinates. This situation must be changed. The government should develop luxury taxes, including expensive cars and elite real estate.
The second requirement for the elite is to increase openness and transparency. Officials should be prepared for restrictions and public control, as is customary in all countries of the world. In addition to monitoring income, control over expenses and large purchases of government officials, heads of state companies and their closest relatives will be introduced. The prosecutor’s office received the right through the court to seize property received as a result of illegal enrichment.
The third demand of the head of state to the elite is to strengthen patriotic feelings. For government officials, this requirement means a ban on the withdrawal of funds abroad. The legislation will establish a restriction of the rights of politicians and officials to open foreign accounts, the acquisition of foreign securities and assets. When buying real estate abroad, the official must report on the value and origin of the money for which the transaction is carried out.
The President called on the business elite to the “deoffshorization” of the economy. All over the world, the Russian economy is famous for its offshore character. Almost 90 percent of Russian companies are not regulated by Russia’s laws. In the country, it is necessary to carry out a whole system of measures for “deoffshorization” of the domestic economy.
Analysts note that in this matter to find faithful allies will be very difficult for the president. The fact is that for several decades the use of foreign jurisdictions in the formation of Russian assets and transactions made them an integral part of all echelons of the Russian business world of Russia. At the same time, minimization of taxes and the withdrawal of capital into foreign jurisdictions are not the main motives for the universal use of offshore. It is more relevant to protect the business from bureaucratic and criminal raiding, as well as the best legal tools for transactions.
