The new taxation mechanism, which is being prepared by the Russian authorities, will support small businesses in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic and will help entrepreneurs in the future in any crisis, said Yulia Pavlova, Chief Tax Consultant at Tax Compliance law firm, to RIA Novosti.

The Russian government at a meeting on Tuesday considered amendments to the bill to support entrepreneurs who work under the simplified taxation system (simplified tax system). This is one of the tax regimes for small businesses, when instead of taxes paid under the general taxation system one can choose one: 6% of all income received by the entrepreneur, or 15% - when the object of taxation is "income minus expenses".

These amendments clarify and confirm the right of the taxpayer to move from higher to standard STS rates - lower if the entrepreneur's income or number of employees decreased. "And these changes will not only help those companies that have suffered from the pandemic and lost in performance, but will also work in the long term - in any crisis, small businesses will be able to use this mechanism to optimize their tax burden," explained Pavlova.

Now the business has the right to work for the simplified taxation system, if its staff is less than 100 people, and income does not exceed 150 million rubles a year. An entrepreneur, whose income exceeds 150 million rubles or the number of employees exceeds 100 people, should switch to the general taxation system.

The State Duma has previously adopted in the first reading a bill that introduces a transition period for the use of STS for companies that have slightly exceeded the established thresholds. Thus, if the revenue is from 150 to 200 million rubles, and the number of employees - from 100 to 130 people, the entrepreneur still remains on the simplified taxation system, but the tax rates for him will be slightly higher: 8% of income or 20% - on the object "income minus costs.

At the same time, if the situation for business worsens and the entrepreneur's performance drops to the same level, the amendments proposed by the government will allow him to return to the "simplification" at rates of 6 and 15%, the expert explained. "This measure will reduce the tax liabilities of small business companies in conditions of general decline in sales due to a fall in consumer demand. In addition, the amendments will automatically return to the previous terms of taxation under the special regime without the need to provide additional documentation," - said Pavlova.

Working group of the State Duma Commission on SME Support will consider these amendments on Friday with the participation of the Head of the Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, as well as representatives of the Federal Tax Service, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, SME Corporation and experts.

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