Prospects for reforming approaches to the legal status of a Russian resident individual

Currently, for the recognition of an individual as a tax resident of the Russian Federation, only the period of his stay in the country during the previous 12 months is taken into account. But in 2019, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation announced the need to change this approach as one of the areas of tax policy for 2020–2022. The main ways to improve legal regulation are the reduction of the actual period of stay on the territory of Russia from 183 to 90 days per year and the introduction of additional more flexible criteria characterizing the relationship of a person with the state. The aim of the study is a comprehensive assessment of the approach to the definition of the individuals` residence in the Russian financial law, which allows to make a conclusion about the feasibility and prospects for its reform. The article examines various aspects of the current legal regulation in this area, as well as the features of recognition of individuals as tax residents in accordance with the international agreement on the avoidance of double taxation have been investigated. The advantages of the existing approach can be attributed to its simplicity and certainty, which is associated with the use of only one objective criterion – the period of stay in the country. In such conditions, it is not difficult for tax agents and tax authorities to classify taxpayers as tax residents. This greatly simplifies administration and allows citizens themselves to better understand their status and associated rights and responsibilities. Paradoxically, this feature is also the lack of regulation. Since, in fact, it completely gives tax residency to the power of the citizens themselves, primarily the wealthy. The simplicity of its definition makes it possible to practically freely change the Russian tax jurisdiction to another, depending on personal benefit. As a result, the state is unable to levy taxes on the income of persons who de facto have close personal and economic ties with the Russian jurisdiction, but de jure do not meet the formal characteristics of a tax resident, planning in advance the period of their stay in Russia. The simplicity in establishing the tax residency of the Russian Federation allows taxpayers to practically freely change the Russian tax jurisdiction to another, depending on personal gain. As a result, the state is unable to levy taxes on the income of persons who de facto have close personal and economic ties with the Russian jurisdiction, but de jure do not meet the formal characteristics of a tax resident, planning in advance the period of their stay in Russia. The article analyzes the main approaches to determining the residence of individuals used in world practice, as well as the measures taken by various states to avoid abuse of the right by individuals. Particular attention is paid to the study of tax residence as a key condition for the implementation of the international agreement on the exchange of information on financial accounts (CRS MCAA), since unfair manipulation of tax status can also impede the state financial control. It is also interesting to study the issue of determining the residence of individuals in the context of the COVID‑19 virus pandemic, since the cancellation of transport links between countries for a long period of time may be forced to change the tax status of many people. As a result of the research, the author came to the conclusion that the approach to determining the tax residence of individuals in Russia differs from that used in most developed countries and needs some resemblance with global practice. In particular, the introduction of the concept of a center of vital interests into Russian legislation will allow considering the connection of a person with Russian jurisdiction on an individual basis, excluding the possibility of abuse. © 2021, Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.