The Association of Bloggers asked for an amnesty for tax optimizers
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One of the two blogging associations operating in Russia asked the government to clarify whether their activities would fall under the amnesty promised in the presidential address to the Federal Assembly (see Kommersant of March 1) for “small companies” caught breaking up their business for the sake of tax optimization. The government’s reaction is still unknown. Lawyers interviewed by Kommersant note that fragmentation is characteristic not only of the professional blogger market and there are no signs yet that the promised amnesty will be limited to specific types of activities.
Kommersant has read the letter from the Association of Bloggers and Agencies (ABA, includes 50 thousand bloggers, 46 agencies), sent on March 1 to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. In it, the organization asks for clarification of the amnesty provisions for “small companies” that were involved in splitting up their businesses. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a proposal to develop such an amnesty during his address to the Federal Assembly on February 29. ABA asks for clarification on whether bloggers will be subject to the amnesty proposed by the president: “At the moment, blogging activities are not officially recognized as a separate line of business, that is, state support measures do not yet apply to them either.” The ABA confirmed the authenticity of the letter; the government office did not respond to Kommersant’s request.
The association, according to the letter, proceeds from the fact that bloggers belong to small and medium-sized businesses and are thus subject to amnesty. But in conditions where its parameters are not made public, “the public may mistakenly have the opinion that the state “forgives” debts to unscrupulous entrepreneurs.”
Tax optimization through the fragmentation of companies, based on observations in 2023, continues to grow, despite tax claims and the initiation of criminal cases (see “Kommersant” on February 7). Bloggers were the defendants in the most high-profile cases brought last year. One of the high-profile cases, against Valeria Chekalina, was dismissed on March 1 (see material on this page). ABA unites agencies in the field of influencer marketing (placing advertisements with bloggers). Against the backdrop of persecution, representatives of the information business (bloggers selling access to courses and participation in marathons) founded their own Association of Information Business; they did not respond to Kommersant’s request.
Professional bloggers are not the main subject or beneficiary of the amnesty, “but in light of the attention that the industry has received over the past year, they are emotional about the issues of prosecution for fragmentation,” says Mikhail Orlov, head of tax and legal consulting at Kept. The ABA issues themselves, according to him, have been relevant for a long time – especially those related to the criteria for fragmentation: “An amnesty, based on logic, implies that the persons falling under it undertake not to repeat violations. But before they make promises, they need to clearly understand what business practices they must abandon.”
Business fragmentation is practiced by enterprises from a wide variety of industries, and there is no predominance in favor of bloggers or against it, says Vadim Zaripov, head of the analytical service of the Pepeliaev Group law firm: “It is extremely unlikely that the amnesty will apply only to businesses in certain types of activities “Moreover, the president indicated that we are talking about the economic parameters of companies.” Managing Partner of NOVATOR Legal Group Vyacheslav Kosakov also believes that the amnesty will not be limited to certain types of activities, but recalls the legally vulnerable position of bloggers: “During the pandemic, government support measures were carried out based on OKVED codes, and many types of businesses that actually should have received support , were deprived of it for formal reasons.”
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