Estonia not on Ukraine’s offshore watchlist – PM Groysman

Ukraine did not put Estonia in the offshore watchlist, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman told his Estonian counterpart Juri Ratas by phone, adding that it was included in the list of states with a zero rate of non-distributed profit, which can be used by residents of Ukraine to dilute their tax base and evade income tax payments in Ukraine.

The head of government stressed that the purpose of this document is to prevent both the erosion of the tax base and the withdrawal of profits from taxation, according to the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers.

Read alsoEstonia supports Donbas children amid humanitarian crisisThe Prime Minister noted that the effect of this list applies exclusively to residents of Ukraine who file with Ukraine’s tax authorities reports on controlled transactions. In turn, the State Fiscal Service, based on filed reports, identifies risky operations subject to additional control under the risk identification system, which is a common practice internationally.

The Estonian side was also informed that the NBU had not taken any decisions to include Estonia in the list of offshore economies. In order to avoid a possible misunderstanding in settlements between businesses, on January 24, 2018, the Ukrainian regulator sent to the banking institutions a letter explaining that there were no legislative grounds for applying an in-depth analysis of Estonian companies.

Read alsoEstonia can no longer be taken within just days, says brigadier generalFollowing the conversation, the prime ministers agreed to instruct their ministries of finance, along with tax authorities, to establish cooperation and conduct consultations, if needed, to resolve possible misunderstandings.

"The heads of government are convinced that such an approach will help to intensify and deepen cooperation in the trade and economic sphere and positively affect the mechanism of financial and banking operations between the two states," the report said.

Previously, media reports said that the Prime Minister of Estonia, Juri Ratas, demanded that Ukraine remove his country from the offshore watchlist.