Putin Declares Islands Disputed With Japan as Tax-Free Zone
- Offshore status of Kurils to last 10 years, president said
- Russia, Japan dispute ownership of four islands seized in WWII
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visits the disputed Kuril Islands, in July.
Photographer: Dmitry Astakhov/AFP/Getty Images
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President Vladimir Putin said Russia is setting up a tax-free zone to attract investment to four islands at the center of a decades-long territorial dispute with Japan.
“We are creating an unprecedented set of benefits and incentives on the Kuril Islands, where we will completely exempt businesses from paying any taxes on profits, property, land and transport taxes, and for 10 years,” Putin said Friday at the annual Eastern Economic Forum in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok.