Senators urged Biden to consider suspension of taxation agreements with Russia

Senators Rob Portman (Republican, Ohio) and Ben Cardin (Democrat, Maryland) sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden urging him to consider abandoning tax information exchanges with Russia in connection with Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine as well as suspending the U.S.-Russia double taxation treaty.

“The United States should consider all options to isolate Russia and make clear that its actions will have consequences. Steps should include changes in the tax relationship between the United States and Russia,” the document said.

The senators urged Joe Biden to explore suspending the “Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and Capital,” which was signed in Washington in 1992.

“We do not believe it is in the interest of the United States to engage in the exchange of information under that treaty, and we urge you to consider suspending that practice. An additional step would be to consider suspending the entire tax treaty with Russia,” the senators stressed.

“Suspending the tax treaty with Russia would make further U.S. investment in the Russian Federation difficult, and it would impede preferential tax treatment for Russian businesses and Russian investment in the United States,” the senators said.