Russia suspends certain provisions of tax treaties with "unfriendly countries"

MOSCOW, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Tuesday to suspend certain provisions within double taxation agreements with 38 unfriendly countries.

A Double Tax Agreement is a bilateral agreement between two countries that seeks to eliminate the double taxation of income.

According to the decree, published on Russia's official legal information portal, the decision was taken "based on the need to adopt urgent measures" with regard to the unfriendly actions of foreign countries in relation to Russia, its citizens, and legal entities.

The measures will be taken against the United States, Britain, Japan, Singapore, Canada, and Australia, among other countries, which Russia has classified as "unfriendly."

According to the decree, the taxation agreements will be halted until the unfriendly states "eliminate violations of economic and other interests of Russia."

The president has ordered the Russian foreign ministry to notify the 38 countries about the suspension, and has instructed the government to submit a bill on the suspension of the treaties to the country's State Duma, the lower house of parliament.