Ministry of Finance clarifies rules for withholding tax exemption for certain dividends

On 14 November 2007, the Ministry of Finance issued its clarification regarding withholding tax exemption in respect of dividends paid to unit investment trusts. Unit investment trusts are not recognized by Russian law as legal persons and thus are not seen as taxpayers for corporate income tax purposes. The Ministry confirmed that dividends paid to such trusts are not subject to withholding tax if properly documented; however, the law does not specify documents that should be su…