Russia's Ministry of Finance recently issued guidance letter No. 03-07-11/121626, which clarifies the corporate income tax and VAT treatment of dividends paid in the form of property (assets). The letter explains that for corporate income tax purposes, taxable income includes income from the sale of property (among other things), and that a sale is recognized as the transfer of ownership for payment or free of charge. Considering this, when dividends are paid by a company in the form of property, the ownership of this property, which previously belonged to the company, is transferred to its shareholders, which is recognized as...