Entrepreneur's Day

The government has rewritten the law on small business

On Wednesday, the government will hear a report from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade on measures to support small businesses. One of the main measures was the development of a new version of the law on small and medium-sized businesses. Whether the government will consider the efforts made by the economic department sufficient is still unknown, but small businesses themselves are satisfied with them.

As Sergei Borisov, president of the all-Russian organization of small businesses OPORA, told Vremya Novostey, “we have a very positive attitude towards the law, but now all government bodies must get involved in supporting small businesses.”

One of the main innovations of the law was the introduction of new criteria for “toddlers” depending on their size. Thus, for the first time, the concept of a microenterprise is introduced, in which the number of employees does not exceed 15 people. The number of employees in a small enterprise, as now, should not exceed hundreds of people. But then a new term appears, which was previously absent from Russian legislation - “medium-sized enterprise”. These will include companies with up to 250 employees. After the adoption of the law, all measures to support small businesses will apply to them, and these, naturally, are the most successful and established companies.

But, unfortunately, the turnover and profits that allow small businesses to count on a simplified tax regime have not changed. Also, the issue of voluntary payment of VAT has not been resolved, which is why many ordinary companies do not want to purchase goods from “kids”. However, this law is a framework law, and it should be followed by a whole package of amendments to various legislation.

The head of the department of state regulation in the economy of the Ministry of Economic Development, Andrei Sharov, hopes that the law will be considered by the Duma this fall and will come into force on January 1, 2007. According to him, supporting small businesses is not only a federal task. Already this year, the Ministry of Economic Development promises to begin co-financing the most successful regional programs to support small businesses. By the way, at the moment, seventeen regions are not at all interested in federal money for these purposes. Sergei Borisov is convinced that this is a great stimulus for economic growth. According to him, small businesses will soon begin to choose the most attractive regions for themselves, and then the authorities, who have failed to create attractive conditions, will be left without economic development.

It is also proposed to create programs with public associations of entrepreneurs on a parity basis. According to Mr. Borisov, it is possible to conduct trainings for entrepreneurs and surveys that identify the main problems. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, in turn, proposes to maintain a register of all recipients of assistance so that one company cannot take advantage of different types of support. Those who believe that they were unreasonably deprived of state support will, under the new law, be able to appeal this refusal in court.

And in order not only to work, but also to relax, it is proposed to celebrate Entrepreneur’s Day on the third Sunday in April. 220 years ago these days, Catherine the Second granted Russian merchants a decree on trade.

Vera SITNINA