On June 4, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, signed into law the amendments to the country’s Tax Code, the so-called “Offshore Law”, which makes it easier to bring offshore assets to Georgia.
In Georgia, a law must be signed by the President of Georgia in order for it to come into force. But if the President refuses to sign it, it’s sent to the Speaker of Parliament. Salome Zurabishvili vetoed the bill and strongly criticized it; as expected that she did not sign it.
The amendments, passed by the ruling Georgian Dream party under a fast-track procedure, offer a wide range of tax benefits to companies and individuals who decide to move their assets from tax havens to Georgia. The law, adopted amid the foreign agents’ law turmoil, sparked widespread backlash in Georgia with critics fearing it could turn Georgia into a hub for black money while allowing Georgian Dream’s billionaire founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and his cronies to evade potential Western sanctions.
Yesterday, June 3, Speaker Papuashvili also signed into law the infamous foreign agents law.
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