The regulator of the cryptocurrency industry in Russia is likely to be the Federal Tax Service, which will become an entry window for market participants. Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev spoke about this in an interview with bitcoinlinux at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum (SPBILF). In addition, he spoke about the conditions under which the co-financing period under the new long-term savings program (LTS) can be extended when individual investment accounts (IIA) of the first and second types cease to exist, as well as how the marketplace will work, if with the help of which any Russian can buy state property.
— Alexey Vladimirovich, there were heated discussions at the SPBILF about the formation of the cryptocurrency market in Russia. Many legalization parameters have been clarified, many questions have surfaced. For example, the bill, which is submitted to the State Duma, states that the government will appoint an agency that will regulate the cryptocurrency industry. Already have an understanding of what kind of department it is?
– The issue is under discussion. In the concept that we have developed, the supervisory agency will accept declarations from people about their wallets and transactions. Now the Federal Tax Service does this for everyone on foreign accounts. It is logical to assume that the Federal Tax Service should also deal with regulation.
If we are talking about the basic option, and not about experimental legal regimes, then citizens – both legal entities and individuals – can mine cryptocurrency, sell it on the external market, or hold it. Nothing more can be done – neither buy back, nor pay off. In this wallet, all transactions must be declared and tax must be paid from them, since income arises.
Information about the wallet, transactions goes to three organizations. Firstly, this is the Federal Tax Service, which, apparently, will be a window for citizen’s declarations. She is now doing the same for foreign accounts, and a cryptocurrency wallet is no different in this sense. Secondly, Rosfinmonitoring, since there are risks associated with laundering, etc. Thirdly, the Central Bank. But the interface for everyone, except for banks, will be the Federal Tax Service.
“Of course, we take into account the limit”
– When can the mechanism for transferring the assets of the departing companies under the control of Russian ones be implemented? What companies and assets are currently being considered for this?
– Two organizations are named in the presidential decree – Unipro and Fortum. The Federal Property Management Agency executed the presidential decree and took them into administration. The board of directors was re-elected, the executive norms were approved, respectively, at this stage, the presidential decree was executed. There will be a new decree – there will be a new execution.
– You said that the Federal Property Management Agency would no longer deal with this.
– I meant that the Federal Property Management Agency will not manage in its own interests. Most likely, it will be built in such a way that management will be carried out in the interests of the company that has suffered. Formally, by decree of the President, a structure was built, when everything is in the trust management of the Federal Property Management Agency.
– For foreign companies from unfriendly countries that leave and want to sell assets to residents, there are many conditions. For example, one of the latest is limits on the purchase of currency. How big are these limits and will they be published?
— The restriction exists and has been in effect for about a month. It is dynamic, so I will not name it today. I can only say that it depends on the specific situation in the foreign exchange market.
– Do the parameters change depending on the current situation?
– In fact, they have not changed, but they are not published on purpose, because they can change quite quickly.
— Is this limit taken into account when issuing a permit for a transaction?
– We, of course, take into account the limit. Every time a deal comes in, foreigners are told that the limit for that month has been reached. Therefore, the currency can be bought next month or found somewhere abroad.
Restrictions are certainly necessary, since there were situations when many transactions took place at once and this had an impact on the foreign exchange market. Well, this shouldn’t be the case. Therefore, our task with the Bank of Russia is to ensure that the activity of entering and exiting companies through the commission on foreign investment does not have any impact on the foreign exchange market. It should be formed on the basis of market factors.
“Commission is not a public service”
— How does the decision on the permission for transactions take place in general?
– The commission is not a public service, when you brought a stack of documents, ticked the boxes and received a decision. The President banned these transactions. And their permission is not a rule, but an exception to the prohibition. The president in the decree did not write the criteria by which to release foreigners, he wrote: “Prohibit, but allow exceptions.” You feel the difference, right?
Why are high-ranking officials in the commission and why are industry departments necessarily involved? The question is being considered: is an amicable divorce with this particular foreigner in the interests of the Russian Federation or not? The Ministry of Industry, a frequent guest at the commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Transport come, relatively speaking, and say: “We need to buy a specific steamer from a foreigner. We need him to carry grain. We can build it ourselves, but it will take two years, and we need it now. Allow us to buy from a foreigner who said that he would no longer work, tied the steamer to the mooring wall, took all the technologies on a flash drive and said goodbye. And it breaks the logistics for us.” Or, let’s say you need to keep the production of some unique component.
— Compromise and manual solution?
– Exactly. Each time it is an exception and a negotiation story. The line ministry usually facilitates interaction with some buyer. Foreigners are always in favor of receiving some kind of funds, they even leave technologies, in some cases contracts for the supply of components are confirmed.
“If someone needs some kind of state facility, then it needs to be sold”
— At the SPBILF you spoke about the prospects for small and large privatization. For example, by the end of the year it is planned to launch a marketplace where it will be possible to purchase various small, let’s say, state-owned objects. How will this process be organized?
“Now there is an active digitalization of the Federal Property Management Agency, aimed primarily at reconciling all registers, cadastralization, and determining the target function of objects. They shouldn’t be idle. If someone needs some object, then it needs to be sold. By the end of this year, the Federal Property Management Agency should carry out all the work on audit and digitalization in full, create a marketplace through which people can purchase what they need.
Are people legal entities or individuals too?
– All comers. For example, an individual entrepreneur can register on the marketplace by analogy with the personal account of the tenant, which already exists in the Federal Property Management Agency. And there will also be a marketplace, which provides for the entire electronic chain. The person on it will enter the criteria of the object that interests him. For example: “Krasnodar Territory, Yeisk District. Immovable non-residential property. He gets the results: there are the ruins of a farm, a dilapidated mansion, a new or renovated building. Next comes the evaluation. A citizen clicks on the “I want to buy” option and is put up for auction. If there are other applicants, then an auction takes place. If not, then the applicant buys the object at an estimated cost and in the same place on the marketplace, through his personal account, concludes an agreement, formalizes the ownership right. And all this will be implemented by the end of this year.
– With large-scale privatization, there is still no clear understanding of when it can take place? On the forum you did not name specific time reference points.
– This issue needs to be approached from a different angle. We do not have the task of simply distributing state property as quickly as possible. The President set the task of forming an internal retail investment market. Therefore, the government has submitted a draft law on a long-term savings program (LTS) to the State Duma, and plans to reform individual investment accounts (IIA). This is done so that citizens accumulate funds by investing money in stock market instruments.
The main goal of the long-term savings program (LTS), as noted by its authors, is to create additional opportunities for long-term savings for every Russian. The sources should be voluntary contributions from citizens and employers, pension savings. Participation in the program is expected within 15 years.
In order to stimulate citizens, the authorities provided for a tax deduction, which can reach up to 52 thousand rubles, as well as co-financing of up to 36 thousand rubles a year. Co-financing is not calculated for the entire duration of the program. The conditions, according to the bill, provide for annual funding from the budget for three years in respect of citizens who have entered the program in the first three years of its operation.
At the end of April, the draft law on PDS was submitted by the government to the State Duma. It is planned that the new product will start operating in 2024.
– And yet a large privatization – the prospect of what time?
“Now this issue is not on the agenda.
“Increasing the volume of co-financing under the PDS can be considered for the second reading”
— What amendments can be made to the draft law on the long-term savings program (LTP) for the second reading? As far as I know, there were disagreements with the Ministry of Economy. What are they and have they been fixed?
– There was one disagreement with the Ministry of Economics: they believe that it is necessary to increase the amount of co-financing. This issue can be considered for the second reading, based on specific funding opportunities.
– Increase in time or in size?
— By time. The bill now sets a period of up to three years, but the Ministry of Economic Development believes that longer is needed.
– How much?
– Colleagues from the Ministry of Economic Development offer at least five, but better for all 15, for the entire duration of the contract. We are not just against it, we just measure it with the possibilities.
– Why is it now limited to a three-year period, what is the problem? As far as I understand, there money can be taken from the ROPS (reserve for compulsory pension insurance, formed from the investment income of citizens during early transition and deductions from non-state pension funds. – bitcoinlinux), where now there are more than 210 billion rubles. And for a long time there has been a discussion on how to use these funds effectively. Why not send a small part to co-finance participation in the PDS?
— There is really a lot of money in ROPS. But there is an agreement with the Ministry of Labor, fixed at government meetings, that money from the ROPS will be taken in proportion to the transfers of people from the OPS to the new PDS system.
Simply put, if two people transfer, then two kopecks will come from the reserves. If citizens begin to show mass character, then the money will come in large volumes. Based on actuarial calculations, there is an excess of money in the ROPS, which makes it possible to co-finance longer and more. Therefore, we maintain a reserved position, realizing that it is always possible to add volumes of state support to encourage people to join the PDS. If financial possibilities allow, of course, it will be necessary to increase co-financing.
— Experts expressed the opinion that the three-year limitation is due to three-year budget planning. This is wrong?
– No. There is no magic in these numbers. We have a certain forecast of the number of people who will come from the OPS.
– What is the forecast?
— Expert estimates — from 100 thousand to 40 million.
– That’s a very big spread.
– Exactly. The truth is likely to be somewhere in the middle. Given the interest in this business, I think that an active marketing campaign will be carried out by the pension market. Therefore, it will not be 100 thousand. Where did 40 million come from? This is an approximate order of magnitude of the number of people who transferred their savings from the GUK (VEB, which manages the funds of the “silent people” – bitcoinlinux) to the NPF.
– The pension market, on the contrary, relies on the “silent people” who will come to the new system from VEB.
– This is their opinion. But this is a very subtle issue. We specifically set a five-year transition period, because we do not want VEB’s liquidity to be shaken as a result of mass transfers. VEB’s liquidity is also a priority for us.
– The possibility of transferring assets was discussed so that not only VEB’s liquidity, but also the financial market would not be shaken.
“The industry wants to be able to transfer assets, but how to do this is not very clear, so this will be dealt with further.
“IIS-1 is a thing that is a little dishonest in relation to the state”
— You mentioned the IIS reform. The main question is: will IIS-1 and IIS-2 immediately cease to exist or will there be some time when all three species will exist?
– The transition will be gradual. First, a ban on opening new accounts will come into force.
What is the transition period?
– Three years.
– Roughly speaking, if you plan to launch IIS-3 next year, then already in 2024 it will not be possible to open IIS-1 and IIS-2, and in three years these tools will not be available?
– Yes, three years will not open new ones and it will be necessary to do something with this within three years, but so far this is still a negotiation process.
– It’s a pity for IIS-1, it’s so comfortable and attractive.
– IIS-1 is a thing that is a little dishonest in relation to the state, because a person, having done nothing, immediately receives a tax deduction.
— But it led to the opening of new accounts.
– Yes. It worked, it played its part, people liked it.
– Do you have any fears that IIS-3 and PDS will compete?
“Of course they will, and that’s a very good thing. It’s all very logical, I think. IIS-3 is for active people who want to trade. Many people like algorithmic trading, high-frequency trading. You open a brokerage account, transfer money there and buy and sell at least five times a day. For people who want trust management, a PDS component.
