Deputy asks govt to expand support measures for small, medium cos

MOSCOW, Mar 19 (PRIME) -- The Russian government should expand the list of measures aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses amid the spread of the coronavirus, Viktor Zubarev, a member of the State Duma’s budget and tax committee, said in a letter to First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov seen by PRIME on Thursday.

In particular, Zubarev suggested introducing a moratorium on scheduled and unscheduled inspections of enterprises by control and supervision departments, as well as credit vacations for all players in the “risk zone” market until the end of 2020, including domestic tour operators, transport and logistics services, the HoReCa living and catering sector (with long-term deferred payments for business entities of tourist and recreational areas), production and trade in souvenir products, educational and recreational and sports centers.

He also believes it is necessary to allow the deferral of payments to the Social Insurance Fund for participants in the “risk zone” for six months without levying penalties or fines, introduce a moratorium on payments for utility services and reduce the rent by 50% for the first half of 2020 for tenants of state and municipal areas.

“The coronavirus pandemic will affect the entire national economy. However, there is a whole list of industries that are in the highest “risk group” and may not survive such shocks. This is not only the tourism sector and airlines, but also the event segment, catering, retail, souvenir production, educational and sports centers,” Zubarev told PRIME.

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