Page 132 - RusRPTFeb23

Russia and its peers in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) could cap the foreign ownership for e-commerce platforms at 49% of share capital and at 33% of votes in the governing bodies, RBC business portal reported citing a draft agreement on electronic trade for the economic union of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. As followed by bne IntelliNews, the Russian TMT and digital market has already seen a wave of splitting large assets into domestic and foreign units to continue operations under sanctions for Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. Now, following the 2021 roadmap of the EEU that called for the creation of "favourable conditions for the development of electronic commerce”, Russia and the union partners are taking further steps to “to protect the interests of citizens and entrepreneurs," according to RBC. The Russian Ministry of Economic Development confirmed to RBC that the possibility of limiting the foreign ownership of e-commerce platforms is on the agenda, while also noting that e-commerce is seen as "vulnerable critical infrastructure". Since 2016, foreigners have already been banned from owning more than 20% of the share capital of Russian media outlets.
Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development in Russia is actively seeking ways to bring back IT specialists who have fled the country since war in Ukraine began last February.
As reported by Kommersant, the ministry has been in talks with representatives of specialized associations and companies to discuss ways of enticing IT professionals to return to Russia. Among the measures being considered are partial payments for "reverse relocation," and as a punishment for those who do not return, an increase in personal income tax from 13% to 30%, The Bell reports.
IT professionals who do return to Russia may be granted a guaranteed exemption from being drafted into the army. However, market participants note that there is currently a regulatory gap between the ministerial lists of companies exempted from military service and the registration with the military and enlistment offices, so employees may still be called up for service even if they are IT personal.
The Ministry of Digital Development has said that they are developing additional measures to support the development of IT companies operating in Russia, but they do not support the initiative to ban remote work from abroad and introduce protective taxes, as this will not benefit either the industry or the specialists themselves.
For several months, the government has been trying to decide how to address the problem of IT professionals leaving Russia. In December, United Russia proposed a ban on certain professions working remotely from abroad. In the
132 RUSSIA Country Report February 2023 www.intellinews.com