The State Council discussed a concept of the state policy for supporting small businesses in Russia, which had been drafted by a working group and examined by the State Council Presidium on December 18.
In his speech, the Russian President pointed out that the situation with small businesses in this country could hardly be called optimistic. Although small businesses provide jobs to one-third of the Russian population, a full-fledged middle class has not yet emerged in Russia. Over 50% of small businesses are located in just eight Russian regions, 25% of them in Moscow.
Mr Putin advocated effective legislation at every government level that would create incentives for small businesses. He said legislation for regulating entrepreneurial activity was also essential.
President Putin proposed a tax reduction and simplified tax procedures for small businesses and said many businessmen lacked the required formal education to handle the complicated accounting system. Mr Putin said tax exemption limits were an interesting idea.
Summing up the meeting’s results, Mr Putin presented State Council with a list of instructions due to be submitted to the Government. Proposals on specifying criteria for a small-business enterprise will be submitted to the State Duma; the Government will study the possibility of applying simplified tax legislation for small businesses enterprises; financial statements for consolidated social tax payments must also be simplified; national legislation must stipulate tax ceilings for small businesses; and regulatory documents for state control and supervision must also be drafted more quickly. President Putin said this list could be extended further.