New tax penalties – good, but dangerous - analyst

Daniel Klein, from law firm Hellevig, Klein and Usov, thinks that the new tax punishments might be good for all parties, but could also increase tax avoidance.

“For honest businesses which are trying to pay their taxes, to really follow the law as much as possible, this is actually great news,” Klein told RT. “Because it’s less likely that the heads of these businesses will have problems like going to jail. Because Russian tax laws are… can be quite great. For some businesses which try to intentionally avoid taxes, this is actually really, really good news for them, because it will make their life a lot easier. So, it’s actually good news for everybody, but I think at the end of the day it may not encourage, but might see an increase in tax evasion.”