After analyzing the potential consequences of the new sanctions and the degree of their impact on citizens and businesses, the Cabinet of Ministers urgently prepared the first measures to mitigate possible threats.
Mikhail Mishustin: The situation in the economy requires us to make quick and effective decisions. Photo: government.ru
The agenda of the government meeting held on Wednesday, March 2, was largely filled with urgent decisions to support various sectors of the country’s economy that may suffer from new Western sanctions. These measures were worked out the day before at the operational headquarters under the leadership of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. “The economic situation requires us to make quick and effective decisions. We are making changes to a number of regulations in order to increase the level of social protection for people and help our citizens get through this difficult period,” he stressed yesterday.
The government will receive additional powers to take urgent measures in terms of providing medicines and medical products. “We will be able to impose restrictions on the export of medical devices from our country that were supplied from states that have joined the sanctions,” Mishustin said. Another measure is aimed at developing the production of medicines that have no Russian analogues. The Cabinet of Ministers will be able to establish a special licensing procedure for pharmacists, as well as activities for the maintenance of medical devices. A special regime will be granted to companies that supply medicines and medical devices under the contract system. If they suffer because of the sanctions, in this case, the terms of their contracts may be changed, the prime minister said.
Amendments to the Tax Code will allow the government to quickly regulate this area, in particular, to extend the deadlines for paying taxes. “We will grant the same powers to the regions with respect to regional and local taxes,” Mikhail Mishustin said. The new order will be in effect throughout 2022.
To protect the assets of Russian business and citizens, who, according to the Prime Minister, are being hunted abroad, the fourth stage of the capital amnesty has been prepared. It will become even larger than the previous one. “To the parameters that were used during the third stage, the possibility of declaring cash will be added,” the head of the Cabinet said. Instead of securities, a definition of a financial asset will appear in the law. This will legalize not only stocks and bonds, but also derivative financial instruments: futures contracts, options, and others.
Expanding opportunities for investment within the country, the government supported the abolition of VAT on precious metals for citizens from March 1. The bill is scheduled for consideration by the State Duma on March 4. Mishustin explained: when purchasing a gold bar from a bank, it will not be necessary to pay a value-added tax of 20 percent, as is now provided for by current legislation. “Such investments can become a good alternative to buying foreign currency,” he said.
A separate block of decisions concerns the support of enterprises. From March 10 until the end of the year, there will be a moratorium on scheduled inspections for individual entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized businesses. Exceptions will be cases where there are risks to the life and health of citizens.
The government will allocate more than six billion rubles to maintain the preferential rate in the payroll 3.0 program. This updated version was launched at the end of last year and should help businesses keep jobs, meet wage, rent and utility bills. “The measure allowed entrepreneurs to get loans at a low rate. Over 42,000 loans were issued last year. Businesses received almost 150 billion rubles,” Mikhail Mishustin said.
Expanding opportunities for investment within the country, the government supported the abolition of VAT on precious metals for citizens from March 1
For six months, the Cabinet of Ministers is extending the program to compensate small and medium-sized businesses for the costs of using the fast payment system. “We will allocate 500 million rubles for these purposes,” the Prime Minister said. “With the help of subsidies, we will fully reimburse enterprises for all purchases of goods and services that citizens make from January to June of this year through the new payment service of the Bank of Russia.” “It is important that the domestic system of fast payments is a reliable and convenient alternative to traditional acquiring payments in stores using bank cards, especially given the continuing risks of disconnecting our country from international payment systems,” the prime minister said.
So far, government decisions have only touched on a number of the most sensitive areas, but, Mishustin assured, the authorities are monitoring all issues important to citizens and will respond in a timely manner.