The development of the concept of beneficial owner in the tax law of the Russian Federation

Abstract

The article deals with the historical development of the concept of a beneficial owner in international tax law. It is noted that in the Russian Federation, the concept of beneficial owner was introduced into the tax legislation only in 2014, but attempts to use this concept were undertaken before 2014. The author thoroughly analyzes legal acts adopted before the “de-offshore law” and approaches to interpretation of the concept of the actual right to income; the paper examines the modern concept of “beneficial owner” set forth in the Russian tax legislation. In general, the concept of beneficial owner has passed a long way of development both in international practice and in the Russian Federation. At the moment, there are still difficulties in interpreting the concept of beneficial owner of income, as well as in the process of forming a uniform law enforcement practice in relation to the concept under consideration.