GD Minister of Economy Levan Davitashvili declares, that the tax breaks promote capital inflow into the country.
Levan Davitashvili states that he has no information on whether the imports of paintings worth USD 481 million and sculptures worth USD 33 million have been made in the country based on offshore companies' tax breaks.
"I don't have information about these transactions and you can verify with the Revenue Service, and colleagues from the Ministry of Finance will provide you with this information.
Any tax break that stimulates the inflow of capital into the country is helpful. These tax benefits don't just apply to artwork, they apply to encouraging capital inflow into the country in general. Any incentive measure is supported," - Davitashvili responds.
If the imports of artwork worth USD 514 million were carried out based on the so-called offshore law, its importer would be exempt from paying 18% VAT on the value of these goods, meaning exemption from USD 92.5 million (260 million GEL) in VAT.
BMG has requested public information from the Revenue Service about whether any company has so far used the so-called offshore tax break law.
