Reduced workload: Russian business received a tax deferral of 217 billion rubles

The amount of tax deferrals granted to Russian business in the framework of state assistance exceeded 217 billion rubles. On Wednesday, May 6, said the head of the Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov at a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

As the minister noted, the postponement of tax payments affected 1.5 million organizations and individual entrepreneurs in the sectors of the economy affected by coronavirus.

“For organizations for which a deferral was not granted automatically, there is an opportunity to receive such installments within the framework of the application procedure. The only condition is a decrease in income by 10% or more, ”Reshetnikov emphasized.

According to him, more than 50 thousand enterprises will be able to take such a measure from May to August.

We will remind, earlier Vladimir Putin proposed to grant a deferment in the payment of insurance premiums for six months and to provide annual installments to tax payment enterprises. In addition, the head of state signed a law on the provision of credit holidays to citizens and organizations whose incomes were reduced by at least 30%. According to the Ministry of Economic Development, to date, the volume of relevant agreements on restructuring or deferral of loans amounted to about 68 billion rubles. 

“Losses of only non-food retail from a month of inactivity are estimated at more than 1 trillion rubles. Against this background, tax deferrals and credit holidays will help businesses reduce time losses, ”said Artyom Deev, head of the AMarkets analytical department, to RT.

According to Maxim Reshetnikov, a loan subsidy program provides additional assistance to business. Thus, banks provide companies with loans for a period of 12 months - for the first six months, interest is not charged, after which the rate rises to 4% per annum. The funds received must be used by companies to pay salaries.

In total, the program is designed for 150 billion rubles. However, according to Maxim Reshetnikov, later the limit can be increased.

“Currently, banks received 31.5 thousand applications for 78 billion rubles. That is, we quickly enough implement the program almost in full, and soon the question will arise about further limits. At the same time, banks have already approved 12 thousand applications, and 8 thousand loan agreements have been signed in the amount of 21 billion rubles. This will help, estimated, 280 thousand people, ”the minister emphasized.

In addition to interest-free loans, from May to June the most affected by the pandemic companies receive free financial assistance from the state in the form of grants for payments to their employees. According to the head of the Ministry of Economic Development, more than 80 billion rubles have already been allocated for these purposes. At the same time, we recall that a business can receive funds only if it maintains at least 90% of its staff compared to March 2020.

“As for subsidies for the payment of salaries, this measure is primarily aimed at maintaining jobs and preventing the growth of unemployment. However, at the moment, about 20% of organizations and enterprises have been able to take advantage of it, ”said Artyom Deev.

In many respects, the fact that a small part of the population and business has so far taken advantage of the indicated support measures is associated with the continued regime of self-isolation. This point of view is shared by the president of the all-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized enterprises "Support of Russia" Pavel Sigal. As the expert said in an interview with RT, as the quarantine measures are phased out, the number of requests for state aid can increase significantly.   

According to experts, a significant reduction in the number of inspections may provide significant support to Russian entrepreneurs. According to the Ministry of Economic Development, 50 thousand inspections were suspended in March, and by the end of the year their number may decrease by 500 thousand.

“The suspension of inspections of enterprises is the most urgent measure, since now there is no activity in many sectors, and additional penalties would only aggravate business problems," said Pavel Sigal.

In general, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, as a result of the effects of coronavirus, by the beginning of May, economic activity in Russia decreased by one third compared to the pre-quarantine level. At the same time, according to the Federal Tax Service (FTS), in April tax revenues in Russia decreased by 30%.

According to RT, investment strategist of BCS Premier Alexander Bakhtin, depending on the pace of lifting quarantine restrictions, the restoration of economic activity may occur no earlier than 2021. At the same time, according to experts, the measures of the authorities will mitigate the financial burden on enterprises and support consumer demand.