Over the past week Roman Tkachenko, Head of the Representative Office of RD Group, has been cited several times in the media: in the business newspaper RBC Daily, in the commercial real estate magazine CRE and on the internet portal finam.ru.
IN CRE
The leading publication specializing in commercial real estate, CRE, came out with an article on the need for branding Moscow and other cities across Russia.
According to Roman Tkachenko, “in the Russian capital, just as throughout the world, we see the increasing popularity of the idea of a ‘city for people,’ where comfort takes precedence of functionality. So it is important to reflect this trend in a potential brand, to show that Moscow has such places as Gorky Park, Zaryadye, the pedestrian zone in the Zamoskvorechye district, Romanov Alley and others. I am confident that this could stimulate an addition inflow of tourists and motivate business to invest in municipal projects and infrastructure.”
IN RBC DAILY
Today’s front page of RBC Daily has an article on a new legislative initiative of the Russian Ministry for Economic Development which introduces a permit process for the acquisition of real estate by foreigners. According to the document, Russian authorities could block a real estate transaction if it is deemed to present a threat to national security. Roman Tkachenko provided his expert opinion on the draft legislation for the newspaper.
ON FINAM.RU
Last week Roman Tkachenko took part in an online conference hosted by the internet portal finam.ru, where the discussion focused on trends in the real estate market in 2013-2014. Mr. Tkachenko commented on one of the most pressing issues concerning the latest initiatives of Russia’s tax authorities: the transition to the tax assessment of retail and office premises based on their cadastral value rather than their book value.
According to Roman Tkachenko, “the office real estate market would be seriously impacted by the changes in the property tax calculation. As we know, starting in 2014 property taxes are to be assessed based on the cadastral value of business centers. Without question these changes will lead to at least a five-fold increase in office owners’ expenses to cover their property tax liabilities. Moreover, the authorities’ tax initiative will significantly change the investment model for new projects. We shouldn’t forget that practically all real estate projects are implemented with the use of borrowed funds. Developers’ need to fulfill their obligations before banks will in essence leave them will only one option: to raise lease rates. According to the most modest projections, lease payments could rise by 10% to 15%.”