Russia’s Hunt for Revenue Puts a Spotlight on Tax Treaties

Russia is rewriting bilateral tax treaties to claw back what it says is almost $2 billion of tax revenue, shaking up years of tax planning by international investors.

Vladimir Putin’s government has moved quickly to renegotiate its double tax treaties with Cyprus and Malta, and a new deal with Luxembourg awaits only formal ratification. The minimum withholding rate will triple to 15% because of those agreements.

All income in the form of interest and dividends moving from Russia to offshore jurisdictions “should be taxed adequately,” Putin said in a March address on pandemic-mitigation strategies. Thanks to so-called optimization schemes, he ...