Beneficial Owner as 'All-In' Test: The Massive Russian Weapon Against Treaty Shopping

Abstract

This article represents the results of the analysis of Russian court practice of the interpretation of beneficial owner concept and also of its equivalent in domestic tax law – the concept of a person entitled for income. The authors found that these legal concepts are in fact used together as one legal concept and are interpreted as general rules aimed at preventing treaty abuse. The scope of the rules is flexible and the scope of the analysis is also very wide and include in fact a substantive evaluation of all the facts and circumstances relating to the payment of the income.