As a result of the economic crisis in the country, the situation of small enterprises has significantly worsened. Imperfect legislation Russian Federation regulating the functioning of small businesses, an unbearable tax burden, excessively complicated accounting and reporting, and the inaccessibility of investment resources exacerbate the problems of small businesses.
Further development of the situation without active state intervention both at the federal and regional levels can lead to the curtailment of this sector of the economy with a corresponding decrease in the well-being of citizens, cuts in jobs and budget revenues.
The problem of small business is mainly financial in nature: the lack of working capital; lack of access to banking credit services, both for solving the problem of working capital, and for the implementation of initiated or planned investment projects; absence free access to loans from state and municipal small business support funds due to the small size of their financial assets and limited budget financing these funds; a decrease in demand for products, with a constant level of costs, threatens to worsen capital turnover, reduce profit margins and business profitability; the risk of non-payments from counterparties - refusal to work with some counterparties, a decrease in profits, an increase in the risks of "overstocking".
Also this:
Reduced access to additional financial and investment opportunities.
Despite the fact that at the moment the dependence on the banking sector and bank financing of small enterprises, unlike large and medium-sized enterprises, is not very pronounced, the liquidity crisis in the banking sector will reduce the ability of banks to provide additional loans to small enterprises. As a rule, representatives of small businesses use loans to a lesser extent (compared to larger counterparts) to implement projects to expand their business and create new industries. Small businesses use loans mainly to replenish working capital, purchase goods from large manufacturers and wholesalers. In other words, small businesses have a large share (and need) of short-term and medium-term loans. However, banks, limited in their resources due to the crisis, will not be able to meet the demand from small businesses for such loans. At the same time, small businesses working with small regional banks, which are currently experiencing the most significant liquidity difficulties and are no longer able to provide loans to SE entities, will feel the impact of the banking crisis to a greater extent.
In addition, in the face of a shortage of funds, branches of large federal and regional banks are likely to tighten requirements for borrowers, including raising interest rates on loans, which will lead to the fact that not all small businesses that want to get a loan and have the appropriate security, will be able to count on receiving it.
It is necessary to pay attention to the high dependence of small businesses on domestic demand
This factor lies in the fact that small business is mainly focused on meeting the needs of the population and enterprises operating in Russia. The share of export-oriented small enterprises is very low. The decrease in effective demand for goods and services of small businesses will have a significant negative impact on the activities of small businesses. Thus, a reduction in demand will lead to a reduction in working capital, which in turn will force enterprises to cut costs by reducing the volume of output, reducing staff, and suspending projects. own development and expansion of activities.
For small businesses (especially in the field of retail and small wholesale trade, production building materials) it will become inappropriate to use the “prepayment for products - shipment of products” scheme when working with large manufacturers and suppliers, because due to a liquidity crisis and difficulty in accessing financial resources enterprises will not be able to attract borrowed funds to purchase the necessary goods. This, in turn, will lead to the suspension of the activities of individual small enterprises whose business processes are based on this scheme.
Crisis phenomena increase the risk of suspension of activities and even the collapse of the infrastructure to support small businesses. Thus, in the event of a decrease in the activity of small enterprises and their demand for information, marketing, educational and other business services provided by support infrastructure organizations, some infrastructure organizations may cease to exist. At the same time, only those organizations that specialize in providing financial services to small businesses will continue to operate.
Crisis phenomena can provoke the withdrawal of small enterprises into the shadow sector
In the absence of funds and solvent demand, small businesses will be forced to reduce the scale of their activities. To free up additional funds, many enterprises will minimize tax revenues, make maximum efforts to save costs, including hiding their own income. At the same time, in the conditions of the existing tax administration, another risk arises: small businesses may be subjected to excessive administrative pressure in order to maintain the existing level of tax payments from specific enterprises.
Of course, the crisis will not affect all small businesses. The damage from the economic crisis for individual small businesses will not be very strong. These companies primarily include:
Enterprises that produce inexpensive products for mass demand and provide relatively cheap services to the population;
Enterprises producing goods/services with inelastic demand;
Enterprises that do not use borrowed funds in their work;
Enterprises that have permanent and well-established relationships with banks, which - can provide loans at a difficult moment;
Enterprises with administrative support and working under the state / municipal order.
However, if you are a responsible, competent and self-confident person, it will not be difficult for you to open your small business in a crisis. The main thing is to feel your chance - and do not miss it!
January 23, 2009The impact of crisis phenomena in the economy of the Russian Federation on small business
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SYSTEM RESEARCH OF BUSINESS PROBLEMS
1. The main features of the small business segment in terms of the impact on it of the crisis phenomena in the economy of the Russian Federation
According to Federal Service state statistics of the Russian Federation, the number of small enterprises as of January 1, 2008 exceeded 1,100 thousand units, and individual entrepreneurs- 3.4 million people. In 2007, the trend towards an increase in turnover and investments in fixed assets in small enterprises continued. The results of the activities of small businesses in 2007 can be regarded as positive. It can be stated that the upward trend in this sector has been observed over the past few years. In addition, in 2006-2008, the state policy was intensified to create favorable conditions for the development of entrepreneurial initiatives both at the federal and regional levels. Thus, new legislation on the development of small and medium-sized businesses was adopted, a number of regulations were approved aimed at simplifying the access of small enterprises to financial and property support. Certain measures are being taken to eliminate administrative barriers.
However, these positive trends in the development of the small business sector can be removed by the impact of both general and specific factors caused by crisis phenomena in the economy. foreign countries and the Russian Federation recorded in the third quarter of 2008.
Common negative factors affecting the activities of small enterprises include a decrease in liquidity, non-payments, and low investment activity.
Specific factors include the following.
First, it is a sharp reduction in access to additional financial and investment opportunities.
Despite the fact that at the moment the dependence on the banking sector and bank financing of small enterprises, unlike large and medium-sized enterprises, is not very pronounced, the liquidity crisis in the banking sector will reduce the ability of banks to provide additional loans to small enterprises. As a rule, representatives of small businesses use loans to a lesser extent (compared to larger counterparts) to implement projects to expand their business and create new industries. Small businesses use loans mainly to replenish working capital, purchase goods from large manufacturers and wholesalers. In other words, small businesses have a large share (and need) of short-term and medium-term loans. However, banks, limited in their resources due to the crisis, will not be able to meet the demand from small businesses for such loans. At the same time, small businesses working with small regional banks, which are currently experiencing the most significant liquidity difficulties and are no longer able to provide loans to SE entities, will feel the impact of the banking crisis to a greater extent.
In addition, in the face of a shortage of funds, branches of large federal and regional banks are likely to tighten requirements for borrowers, including raising interest rates on loans, which will lead to the fact that not all small businesses that want to get a loan and have the appropriate security, will be able to count on receiving it.
Secondly, it is necessary to pay attention to the high dependence of small businesses on domestic demand. This factor lies in the fact that small business is mainly focused on meeting the needs of the population and enterprises operating in Russia. The share of export-oriented small enterprises is very low. The decrease in effective demand for goods and services of small businesses will have a significant negative impact on the activities of small businesses. Thus, a reduction in demand will lead to a reduction in working capital, which in turn will force enterprises to cut costs by reducing the volume of output, reducing staff, suspending their own development projects and expanding activities.
Thirdly, for small businesses (especially in the field of retail and small-scale wholesale trade, production of building materials) it will become inappropriate to use the “prepayment for products - shipment of products” scheme when working with large manufacturers and suppliers, because due to a liquidity crisis and difficulty in accessing enterprises will not be able to attract borrowed funds to purchase the necessary goods. This, in turn, will lead to the suspension of the activities of individual small enterprises whose business processes are based on this scheme.
Fourth, crisis phenomena increase the risk of suspension of activities and even collapse of the infrastructure to support small businesses. Thus, in the event of a decrease in the activity of small enterprises and their demand for information, marketing, educational and other business services provided by support infrastructure organizations, some infrastructure organizations may cease to exist. At the same time, only those organizations that specialize in providing financial services to small businesses, such as microfinance organizations, venture funds, private equity funds, and guarantee funds, will continue to operate. It is possible that these institutions, in the absence of bank financing, will become the only source of borrowed money for small businesses.
Fifth, crisis phenomena can provoke small enterprises to go into the shadow sector. In the absence of funds and solvent demand, small businesses will be forced to reduce the scale of their activities. To free up additional funds, many enterprises will minimize tax revenues, make maximum efforts to save costs, including hiding their own income. At the same time, in the conditions of the existing tax administration, another risk arises: small businesses may be subjected to excessive administrative pressure in order to maintain the existing level of tax payments from specific enterprises.
In general, it can be noted that due to the existence of crisis phenomena in the economy, small businesses will:
1) freeze all projects that are aimed at development and expansion (the purchase of new equipment, investments in infrastructure, hiring and training of personnel, development of new land plots, opening of new outlets, improvement of management methods, organization of production and marketing, etc.);
2) make every effort to reduce investment and tax costs;
3) reconsider the methods of working with counterparties (for example, enterprises will refuse to pay in advance for purchased goods and impose more serious requirements on buyers in order to avoid the possibility of non-payment for shipped products)
4) will increase the attraction of borrowed funds from illegal credit markets (from usurers and criminal credit offices - “common funds”) and will stop using credit services of the legal lending market, since access to them will be limited.
Of course, the crisis will not affect all small businesses. The damage from the economic crisis for individual small businesses will not be very strong. These companies primarily include:
- enterprises that produce inexpensive products of mass demand and provide relatively cheap services to the population;
- enterprises producing goods/services with inelastic demand;
- enterprises that do not use borrowed funds in their work;
- enterprises that have permanent and well-established relationships with banks that can provide loans at a difficult moment;
- enterprises that have administrative support and work on state / municipal orders.
2. The main painful and vulnerable points of small business
The crisis can lead to a significant quantitative narrowing of small businesses, that is, the withdrawal from the market (primarily “into the shadows”) of a part of small businesses that are forced to temporarily curtail or completely stop their legal activity. economic activity, reduction in the number of employees in small enterprises, a decrease in turnover and investment in fixed assets in small enterprises.
An analysis of the specifics of the crisis phenomena and the specifics of small businesses allows us to identify the following problematic and vulnerable points of small businesses.
Table 1.
| Category of small businesses (SE) | Problem points |
| SE entities that actively use borrowed funds for production, provision of services | lack of access to bank financing revaluation of collateral, deterioration of credit conditions, problems with working capital, transition to shadow lending in the form of illegal credit services of moneylenders and organized criminal groups |
| SE entities producing products for medium and large enterprises | decrease in demand for products, the risk of non-payment by counterparties |
| SE entities providing production, marketing, personnel, information, consulting and other services | decrease in demand for services, risk of non-payment |
| SE entities operating in the construction industry (production of building materials, construction and repair work) | a decrease in demand for products and services, a decrease in the cost of products, while materials could be purchased at high prices at the beginning - middle of the year |
| SE entities operating in wholesale and retail trade | increase in the cost of imported products, a problem with working capital, in the medium term - a decrease in demand for products |
| MP subjects operating in the field Catering and restaurant business | |
| SE entities providing services in the field of transport | decrease in demand for products and services, decrease in profitability and liquidation of individual enterprises |
| MP entities working on state and municipal orders | decrease in the volume of orders in 2009, non-payment for work performed in 2008 increased competition for state and municipal orders |
| SE entities implementing investment projects aimed at modernization, expansion of production | absence financial resources for development, freezing development projects |
| All subjects of MP | administrative pressure on businesses, an increase in the number of inspections, a decrease in capital turnover, the dismissal of employees |
The main existing or possible problems small businesses still have a financial nature:
1) lack of working capital;
2) lack of access to banking credit services, both for solving the problem of working capital, and for the implementation of initiated or planned investment projects;
3) lack of free access to loans from state and municipal small business support funds due to the small size of their financial assets and limited budgetary financing of these funds;
4) a decrease in demand for products, with a constant level of costs, threatens to worsen the indicators of capital turnover, a decrease in the rate of return and business profitability;
5) the risk of non-payments from counterparties - refusal to work with some counterparties, a decrease in profits, an increase in the risks of "overstocking".
3. Measures aimed at reducing the impact of the crisis on small businesses
To solve these problems and prevent the negative impact of the crisis on the activities of small businesses, measures should be taken to create a financial base for small businesses and reduce the costs of small businesses.
Possible measures aimed at reducing the impact of crisis phenomena on the activities of small enterprises can be:
- measures to increase financial support;
- measures in the field of property support;
- measures aimed at stimulating demand for goods and services of small enterprises;
- information support measures.
It is necessary to take a number of decisions aimed at increasing financial support for small businesses. Thus, it is possible to increase the volume of lending to small businesses under the programs of state banks (for example, Vnesheconombank), as well as hold a special competition for the placement of state budget funds in non-state banks (lending to private banks), while these resources, in turn, non-state banks will have to spend on expanding lending to small businesses.
Another measure in the field of financial support may be an increase in funding for small business support programs, carried out based on the results of a competition for the selection of subjects of the Russian Federation, whose budgets in 2008 are provided with subsidies to finance activities carried out within the framework of providing state support small business by the subjects of the Russian Federation. At the same time, additional funds allocated from the state budget can be proportionally divided among the subjects of the Russian Federation - the winners of this competition, and the main focus can be placed on increasing the volume of direct financial support for small enterprises and organizations that form the financial infrastructure for supporting small enterprises, including such events as subsidizing the expenses of small enterprises, allocating grants to start-up entrepreneurs, creating and developing microfinance organizations, guarantee funds, and investment funds.
Another effective measure in the field of financial support is the creation of new and expansion of existing guarantee funds (guarantee funds) - special non-profit foundations providing guarantees and collateral for small businesses that do not have enough of their own property to fully secure obligations under bank loans. The formation and use of guarantee funds is aimed at simplifying the access of small businesses to credit services of the most reliable credit organizations that place high demands on the financial transparency of borrowers and the economic reliability of financed projects. Experience in creating guarantee funds is available in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Voronezh, Sverdlovsk regions, the Republic of Udmurtia, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and other subjects of the Russian Federation. In 2006-2007, federal budget funds supported the creation of 23 regional guarantee funds with a total capitalization of 3.3 billion rubles. Entrepreneurs' loans worth more than 5 billion rubles were guaranteed. It is necessary to continue to create guarantee funds, as well as to create conditions for the development of existing funds.
The second group of measures are measures in the field of property support. Under conditions of forced cost reduction, rental rates and real estate prices will remain a significant factor influencing the cost of products and services of small businesses. Accordingly, a measure aimed at facilitating access to property, as well as reducing the costs of small businesses, may be a reduction in rental rates. non-residential premises and land plots in federal, regional and municipal ownership.
A separate group of measures are special sulfurs aimed at stimulating demand for goods and services of small enterprises and import substitution. Here it is necessary to pay attention to the inadmissibility of reducing the volume of federal, regional, municipal orders intended for small enterprises. In accordance with the legislation on the placement of state and municipal orders, the state customer is obliged to place 10-20% of the state order exclusively on togas held for small businesses according to a separate nomenclature of goods, works, services approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the cost of an order placed at such auctions must not exceed 3 million rubles for works and goods and 2 million rubles for services. In order to attract small enterprises to fulfill the state order, it is possible to increase the upper limit set for the size of the initial (maximum) price of orders. This will allow small enterprises operating under government contracts to access additional funds that they could use to maintain and expand their activities, as well as increase interest in participating in public procurement from small enterprises-potential participants in the order. In addition, in order to expand the access of small enterprises to the state order, it is possible to create special electronic platforms, which would combine orders intended for small enterprises and placed by various government customers, and would also serve as a means of widely informing small businesses about placing orders for the supply of goods, performance of work, provision of services for public needs, in which such entities are participants in placing an order .
The use of measures to regulate the import of imported goods can also have a certain impact on stimulating demand for goods and services of small enterprises. Such measures can be quotas, as well as the introduction of additional customs duties on goods related to consumption (primarily food).
In a crisis, it is necessary to pay attention to the implementation of special information events and actions (including the conduct of special seminars, conferences, briefings, posting information on the websites of federal and regional bodies state power dedicated to the issues of small business), aimed at clarifying the information:
- about the features of the crisis;
- on the impact of the crisis on the activities of small businesses;
- about the features of management in a crisis;
- O additional features access of small enterprises to financial and property resources.
4. Measures aimed at the development of small business in the conditions of the "crisis"
Measures aimed at the development of small business in the context of the economic crisis can be divided into three groups:
- measures in the field of tax regulation;
- measures to reduce administrative barriers;
- measures in the field of personnel support for small businesses.
Measures in the field of tax regulation may involve the provision of "tax holidays" for newly formed enterprises and industries created as a result of investments in the form of capital investments (for example, temporary exemption from taxes on income, property, land tax of enterprises operating on common system taxation, and temporary exemption from the payment of a single tax for enterprises operating under special taxation regimes).
In order to release additional funds from small enterprises, it is advisable to reduce the overall tax burden on small enterprises by reducing individual taxes (UST in the first place). In general, tax cuts for small businesses will stimulate growth and increase production, and will also help reduce the shadow sector.
In addition, it is necessary to continue work on the elimination of administrative barriers that hinder the activities of small enterprises. It should be recommended to expedite the adoption of a package of bills aimed at reducing pressure on business by streamlining state and municipal control, replacing licensing with civil liability insurance, limiting the non-procedural rights of the police, and providing the possibility of replacing mandatory certification with a declaration of conformity. First of all, further streamlining of the principles and regulation of the procedure for conducting inspections of small enterprises, reducing the number of control and supervisory measures taken in relation to small businesses is required. Real changes must take place not only in ideology, but also in law enforcement practice. In order to streamline the conduct of tax audits, the general procedure for conducting control can be extended to tax control.
In terms of replacing mandatory certification with declaration, the adoption of the relevant law must be supplemented practical steps to optimize this form of conformity assessment. As a matter of priority, it is necessary to prepare proposals for a significant reduction in the list of types of products to be certified and to clarify the unified list of products subject to mandatory certification and the unified list of products subject to declaration of conformity.
At the same time, it seems appropriate to adhere to the target setting to reduce the share of types of products subject to mandatory certification to 50% in 2009-2010. and set a clear schedule for further reduction spheres of compulsory certification with fixing of specific indicators of the effectiveness of its implementation. Reducing certification costs, which are a serious barrier for small businesses (moreover, certification costs increase significantly for high value-added products and innovative sectors), will lead to an increase in free funds of enterprises, some of which can be directed to investments.
[In absolute terms, according to estimates based on the results of independent sample surveys of enterprises and data from Rostekhregulirovanie, the total expenses of enterprises (with additional calculations for the whole range) for mandatory certification only within the GOST R system in 2004 amounted to from 50 to 85 billion rubles. ]
It is also necessary to simplify the access of small companies to the electricity grid and establish low fixed prices for connecting small enterprises to the power capacities.
Considering the release of a large amount labor resources dismissed from medium and large enterprises, certain measures can be taken to attract these employees to small enterprises and thereby increase labor productivity in the small business segment. A certain role here can be played by the revitalization of the work of state and municipal services employment with specific small businesses for the employment of new employees.
Today at Russian entrepreneurs there is every reason for pessimism, but are there those among them who are experiencing this crisis for their own benefit?
Kontur.Zhurnal asked entrepreneurs from Russia to tell how they feel during the crisis and what benefits they derive from the current situation.
Alexander Konovalov, founder of the Association of Ecological Products Producers "Ecocluster"
Unfortunately, the trend is obvious: the economic situation will worsen, the ruble will weaken - all my business acquaintances agree with this. There are a lot of objective and many times voiced reasons for this. You need to rely only on yourself: reduce costs, optimize processes, work with staff, hire more trained people who can perform several functions at the same time.
My business is built in the area Agriculture, and here, according to tradition, all hope for the state. We are waiting for the easing of tax policy, as well as a serious reduction in the cost of targeted loans. Without this, we cannot produce not only competitive, capable of replacing imported, but at least profitable products. There is a demand in the sector of dairy products, personally we have received an increase of 20-25%. But, alas, this is rather an exception.
Nadezhda Desinova, owner of Iorganic bioshops
So far, with the onset of the crisis, things have not gone very well: there are fewer customers, and the average purchase check in our store has also decreased. I'm afraid that in the next two or three years there are no prerequisites for improvement. Personally, I am sure that the ruble has not yet reached the bottom, and this year we are waiting for new non-optimistic figures. I hope that then Russia will return to growth.
Personally, we have our own problems: we have to look for a replacement for foreign suppliers, and this is a very difficult task.
However, I can point out that Russian companies change in better side. They became more responsible, improved logistics, design, packaging, it became more interesting to work with them.
But you need to cut costs, including staff, you have to connect to the processes yourself more often.
Stepan Danilov, creator of MeYou online service
Incompetent officials and inactive state institutions have led the country to what we have now. On TV, everyone is busy with populism and propaganda, while the economy has simply been driven to a standstill. Was it not clear 3-5-10 years ago that total dependence on the export of raw materials is the role of a riding donkey? Where others order - there you go. When oil costs $100 per barrel, everything is fine, but you don’t think or talk about the fact that the price could suddenly drop to $40. Because other people decide instead of us, and we just have to adapt.
I do not see how the Russian economy can go up again - there are no investments, no clear strategies. There is nothing. And how can one predict the exchange rate of the ruble if the head of the Central Bank does not know this herself. In my opinion, the rate may become even lower, for example, 100 rubles. per dollar in December. Today, everything looks bad, the socially and economically active population in the country is at least 1%, the business climate is contraindicated for doing normal business, a third of citizens live below the poverty line. My advice: if there are options, try to transfer your business abroad.
Igor Pulovkin, founder of the Health&Fit online store
On TV we are constantly told that in all economic problems Foreigners are to blame for Russia, who are strangling us with sanctions, preventing us from developing, putting spokes in the wheels. That's bullshit. I would estimate the impact of sanctions on the economy at most 5%. The crisis started earlier. Over the past 20 years, we have finally forgotten how to create anything more complicated than oil barrels and titanium ingots. It's just a shame for a country like Russia. Therefore, we will continue to fall, sometimes slowing down when oil grows by $10-20, or accelerating when it falls. The world will move on solar energy and electric cars, and we are building a ferry crossing to the Crimea. A manned expedition will go to Mars, and we will ban the export of bananas and the broadcast of hip-hop.
The economy will not collapse, something will be bought and sold, many entrepreneurs will probably even find new niches for themselves. Manufacturers will switch to the strategy of creating the cheapest possible product, including by reducing quality. In my field - the sale of vitamins, supplements, sports equipment - there is a noticeable decline now, people have less time and money for an active lifestyle. And I do not foresee improvements in the autumn-winter season.
Pavel Spichakov, General Director of KIT LLC, Co-Chairman of the Industry Committee, Member of the Board of VO OPORA RUSSIA
I assess the current situation cautiously positively. We have entered difficult turbulent times, but these times provide an opportunity to make good money, develop quickly and occupy new markets.
I think that in the near future the ruble will be thrown from one side to the other. There is a strong feeling of its further fall, I do not rule out that it will be sharp.
One broker told me, "The price of a stock depends a lot on the demand for it." The same with the currency: no one will tell you exactly where and how quickly the ruble will go up or down.
I Russian manufacturer, and recently the demand and the cost of my products have grown, almost all the equipment works around the clock, orders are going well. "KIT" is growing very fast, production capacity so busy that I'm now placing an order for new equipment, increasing productivity, recruiting staff, raising salaries. Yes, there are difficulties with working capital, the cost of inventory has increased significantly, sharp currency fluctuations have led to exchange rate differences. In particular, accounts receivable from buyers increased, stock balances in money increased, loans became unavailable, banks were inadequate - both in terms of rates and in terms of the mechanism for receiving money, business risks increased significantly, but profitability also increased! But still, over the past year, the company has grown 2.5 times in terms of turnover, and 2 times in terms of personnel.
Definitely, now is a difficult time for the country and the economy, but I am sure that everyone who is now focused on production, increases the efficiency of administration and, despite the negative, increases momentum, sooner or later will be in a significant plus. In my opinion, now is the time to pay attention to manufacturing business. As in the 90s everyone rushed into trade, so since then production has remained blue ocean opportunities for courageous and active entrepreneurs. So the crisis for some is a time of contraction, for others it is a period of powerful growth!
The global crisis of 2014 led to a deterioration in the situation in the Russian economy. Sanctions against the country and lower prices for energy products led to the fact that there was a decrease in revenues in the Russian budget. The beginning of the global crisis leads to capital outflow from the country, to higher inflation, to a deterioration in the situation in the economy. At present, the country's leadership is faced with the need to increase the competitiveness of Russian products and to replace imported goods. Important role in this process is given to small businesses. Keywords Keywords: small business, global crisis, anti-crisis measures.
The global crisis of 2014 contributed to the deterioration of the economic situation in Russia. The introduction of sanctions led to a decrease in revenues to the Russian budget. The crisis that has begun leads to an increase in inflation, a deterioration in the situation in the economy and a decrease in the income of the country's population. Due to the complication of access to financial resources, investment projects of many Russian organizations. The problem for Russian enterprises is exacerbated by the complication of the external economic situation.
For this reason, the demand for the products of leading organizations foreign economic activity reduced, the demand for products of other sectors of the national economy of the country decreases. At the same time, consumer lending is decreasing, which limits the demand for Russian goods. The system and mechanism of management in a crisis should create the necessary conditions which give small businesses the opportunity to adapt to changing conditions, and make small business a highly efficient area of the country.
In connection with the crisis, the risks of stopping the work of a number of small business organizations are increasing. In such a situation, the state should take measures to support small businesses. Prior to the beginning of the crisis period, the country's economy showed an increase in the indicators of small business development, the volume of investments in small enterprises was constantly growing, and capital investments in fixed assets increased. The Government of the Russian Federation, regions, municipal authorities adopted legislative acts, regulations that provided conditions for the development of small businesses. On this moment these achievements are lost. Investments have decreased, enterprises are experiencing difficulties in selling products, and losses are growing.
Small businesses are faced with the problem of obtaining loans, but on the other hand, small businesses themselves do not want to use a loan, since interest rates on bank loans are high. Small business loans are mainly used to replenish current assets. For small businesses, obtaining short-term loans is of great importance. And their financial institutions do not issue or issue at high interest. It should also be taken into account that small banking organizations operate in the regions, which themselves are in a difficult situation and are not able to fully lend to small businesses due to limited resources and fear of serious financial losses. An important problem for small business is its dependence on consumer demand. Outside the regions and abroad, small business products are in little demand.
Demand within the regions is low, and due to the crisis situation in the country it has even decreased, which leads to a decrease in the replenishment of working capital in the property of small enterprises. Therefore, there is an economic situation that pushes small business entrepreneurs to reduce business operations. In connection with this situation, the risk of suspension of the activities of many small businesses is growing, and this may lead to the reduction of small business infrastructure organizations. In general, in a crisis, the situation is not in favor of small businesses. There is a problem with the sale of goods, expensive goods become unclaimed due to a decrease in the purchasing power of the population, high rates for obtaining loans, reduced terms for granting loans, increased rental rates, etc. All this and much more hinders the development of small businesses. In such a situation, it is possible for small businesses to move into the shadow economy. In the absence of borrowed funds, it is possible to reduce the activities of small enterprises. In order to receive funds, businessmen will not show profit in their statements or pay official wages.
This will lead to a reduction in the payment of taxes and payments to off-budget funds. If the methods of tax pressure are not changed, then there will be excessive pressure on small businesses, which will worsen the situation of small businesses. Not all small businesses are in a difficult situation. Organizations that produce cheap and high-quality products and provide services, enterprises that do not use loans or have bank support, fulfill government orders, have a chance to survive in crisis conditions. In order to overcome the impact of the economic crisis, it is necessary to take measures to ensure the financial security of small businesses. Financial support is of great importance in ensuring the stable operation of small businesses.
In order to support small businesses, it is advisable to allocate public funds in commercial banks which will lend to small businesses under certain conditions. Formation of small business support funds is of great importance. The functions of which will be charged with the obligation to provide guarantees to small business organizations that do not have sufficient collateral when obtaining commercial loans. There is experience in the formation of small business support funds in the country. Such funds successfully operate in Moscow, St. Petersburg, in Nizhny Novgorod, in Kazan and other cities. An important area of support for small businesses during the crisis is assistance in property support.
Transfer into possession or use of property, including land plots, buildings, structures, structures, non-residential premises, equipment, machines, Vehicle, inventory, on a reimbursable basis, free of charge or on preferential terms will contribute to stable work. The most important area of support is stimulating demand for Russian goods, ousting foreign-made products from the market. Therefore, the necessary level of federal, regional and municipal orders for small businesses should be ensured.
In a crisis, small businesses will have the means to maintain entrepreneurial activity. In order to stimulate consumer demand, it is necessary to take measures to regulate the import of goods from abroad, establish quotas, reasonable customs duties. In order to stimulate the creation of new enterprises in the field of small business, it is possible to establish "tax holidays" for newly created organizations. Such a tax measure will stimulate the creation of new enterprises and the opening of new industries. In order to overcome administrative pressure, it is necessary to adopt a number of legal acts that reduce the pressure on small businesses. With the help of new legal acts, it is necessary to regulate the procedure for checking small enterprises and reduce their number in relation to small businesses.
In the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, Russia experienced a growth in the small business sector. As of January 1, 2008, the total number of small companies amounted to more than 1.1 million, and individual entrepreneurs - almost 3.5 million people. But the positive trends were put on hold by the new economic environment in the third quarter of 2008. The global financial and economic crisis that has manifested itself in Russia has put small businesses in a difficult position. The volume of investments in the small business sector fell by 24.1% compared to the pre-crisis period (in other sectors of the economy - by an average of 15.6%). In general, negative trends were observed throughout the country, which were reflected in a decrease in the income of the population, accompanied by an increase in prices for goods and services (and, as a result, a decrease in the purchasing power of the population).
The most significant damage from the crisis fell on travel agencies, trade and construction companies. Thus, in the field of tourism, turnover decreased by 40-50%, which caused the bankruptcy of about 20% of small travel companies in Russia. The decline in the market of trade and services on average in the regions of Russia reached 15%. In the construction sector, about 40% of small enterprises declared themselves bankrupt.
The undoubted outsiders were the education sector (reduction in the number of small businesses by 57.1%) and healthcare and social services (36.6%). It should be noted that in the pre-crisis period, these types of services were in great demand among the middle class of the country's population.
A significant number of small entrepreneurs against the backdrop of the crisis decided to exit the business, or to “freeze” it. As of April 1, 2009, the number of registered small companies decreased by 20.7% compared to the figure for the 1st trimester of 2008. On average, the number of small enterprises in Russia amounted to 160.4 units per 100 thousand inhabitants - in 2008 this figure was 41.7 units higher. Thus, by the middle of 2009, Russian small business was in decline and could not play the role of a "buffer" mitigating the crisis in the economy by providing jobs for those laid off from large companies.
On the other hand, some regions of Russia showed positive dynamics. According to the official website of the administration of St. Petersburg in the second quarter of 2009, the city occupied a leading position in terms of the number of small businesses - 2,757 per 100,000 inhabitants (in Moscow - 2,060).
The need to optimize costs by reducing the cost of doing business (as in other countries affected by the crisis) has led to the inevitable dismissal of employees of small companies. The official report of the National Institute for System Research of Entrepreneurial Problems (hereinafter NISIPP) states that the average employment in small companies of the Russian Federation in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008 decreased by 5.4%. As noted earlier, the areas most affected by the crisis were also in the lead in terms of the number of dismissed: trading companies (173.9 thousand people), construction companies (112.5 thousand people).
It is impossible not to note the issue of credit policy in a crisis. The issue of lending to small businesses in a crisis has become more relevant than ever. The liquidity crisis (lack of funds from banks) and the instability of the financial market led to the fact that lending rates for small businesses rose to an average of 20% (compared to pre-crisis 13-15%). The previously existing credit programs of unsecured and interest-free loans were curtailed. Trying to at least somehow insure themselves, banks have tightened the requirements for collateral, in view of the fear of non-repayment of loans.
In general, the situation of small businesses during the crisis turned out to be more difficult compared to the situation big business, primarily due to the greater availability of government subsidies for large enterprises. As evidenced by the study of NISIPP, based on data from Rosstat. However, it is impossible not to note the emergence of some positive trends - largely due to changes in legislation, the following was undertaken:
With the entry into force of the law "On the protection of the rights legal entities and individual entrepreneurs in the course of state control (supervision) and municipal control” on July 1, 2009 (which regulates inspections in the field of small business), the number of inspections was significantly reduced. In the same time, unscheduled checks businesses were not banned. The list of products subject to mandatory certification has also remained the same.
In 2009, a number of bills were developed to reduce control over small businesses by tax and law enforcement agencies; public councils were organized to protect the rights of small entrepreneurs. The law “On the peculiarities of the participation of small businesses in the privatization of leased state and municipal property” appeared, according to which enterprises received the right to buy out leased premises.
Mandatory certification of enterprises was allowed to be replaced by a declaration of conformity. This was done to reduce the costs of entrepreneurs on procedures for confirming the safety of goods and services.
As part of anti-crisis measures in 2009, income tax was reduced to 20%. Small businesses received a number of additional tax incentives for equipment depreciation. In addition, imported technological equipment that is not produced in Russia, as well as funds intended for personnel training, were exempted from taxation.
Subsidizing and assistance in obtaining a loan is another anti-crisis measure on the part of the state, including the allocation of funds for start-up entrepreneurs (up to 300 thousand rubles), for those employed in priority areas (up to 5 million rubles), for the implementation of specific innovative projects(up to 2.5 million rubles), for youth projects (up to 1 million rubles). Moreover, within the framework of the microfinance program operating at that time, it became possible to obtain a loan without collateral and guarantee in the amount of up to 350 thousand rubles.
Housing and communal services, production and innovations, household services and handicrafts, youth entrepreneurship and services for low-income segments of the population have become priority areas of activity for obtaining state support for small businesses. Additional compensations were established for these areas: 75% of the refinancing rate, provided that the loan term exceeds 3 years; 50%, for a period of 2-3 years; 30% for a period of 1-2 years.
In addition to subsidizing, the state also compensated interest rates on loans that entrepreneurs received from commercial banks. For this purpose, special small business support funds were created, which took on loan guarantees in the amount of up to 50% of the borrower's obligations. For priority areas of small business, the Credit Assistance Fund provided guarantees up to 70% of the loan amount. The loan amount guaranteed by the fund for small entrepreneurs is 70 million rubles.
The result of the above anti-crisis state measures was an increase in the number of small and medium-sized enterprises in Russia (over the year it increased by 9.3% - from 5,126.9 to 5,605.8 units). The number of people employed in SMEs decreased by 1.1% over the year, trade turnover fell by 9.7%, and investments decreased by 26.7%. According to the calculations of the all-Russian public organization of SME entrepreneurs "Opora Rossii" (hereinafter referred to as "Opora Rossii"), the federal budget allocated in 2009 from 10.5 to 18.7 billion rubles to support small businesses, which amounted to 1.6% of the total amount of federal anti-crisis support for the economy. Rosfinnadzor found that about 1 billion rubles. federal subsidies to regional small businesses (5.5% of their total volume) did not reach the recipients, and 822.3 million rubles. remained unused.
But a worsening of the tax policy environment for SMEs was inevitable. So from January 1, 2010, the unified social tax was replaced by contributions to state funds (although in fact aggregate size contributions remained at the level of 26% of the wage fund).
According to Opora Rossii, in the summer of 2010, the Ministry of Finance began discussing future negative changes in the small business taxation system, proposing to cancel the single tax on imputed income (UTII) from 2014, and from 2011 to switch to a patent system and, by reducing the maximum number of employees enterprises, limit the number of UTII payers. In 2010, 55% of small and medium-sized enterprises were UTII payers, 37% paid tax under the simplified system (STS) and 8% - under the general taxation system.
From January 1, 2011, the government decided to increase the share of deductions from 26% to 34% of the payroll (26% in the PFR, 5.1% in the FFOMS, 2.9% in the FSS). For UTII and STS payers, the burden increased by 2.4 times, for tax deductors under the general system (“income minus expenses”) - by 1.3 times. To prevent the mass transition of taxpayers to general taxation, enterprises with an annual turnover of less than 60 million rubles. will be required to work under the USN.
The above figures indicate that for the most part government measures have resulted in a formal increase in entrepreneurial activity, but at the same time, an actual decline in the quality of business performance indicators - new entrepreneurs created by former unemployed turned out to be untrained in business and therefore unprepared for it, which in long term for the budget and for the state is unfavorable.
However, in addition to the negative consequences, one can also note the positive impact of the crisis. The observed decrease in the number of enterprises indicates healthy economic competition – uncompetitive and inefficient enterprises have left the market.
Summing up, here are some statistics.
The Russian Federation ranks 123rd among 183 countries, dropping seven positions over the past year.
In terms of ease of starting a business, the country ranks 108th in the world (registration costs are relatively low, but the process stretches for 30 days and requires 9 procedures, which is quite a lot).
In terms of ease of registration of property rights - 51st place (due to the low cost of registration).
In terms of lending - 89th place (there is no state credit registry in the country and at present the credit history of citizens is maintained by private bureaus).
In terms of investor protection - 93rd place.
In terms of taxation - 105th place (the level of tax burden in Russia is 46.5% of the company's income, and reporting takes 320 hours).
In terms of ease of doing international trade - 162nd place.
In terms of ease of liquidation of enterprises - 103rd place.
The construction sector remains the most problematic for business in Russia. In terms of the complexity of the procedure for obtaining building permits, Russia is the constant outsider of the rating (182nd place).
Among the former Soviet republics, Georgia occupies the highest place in the ranking for two years in a row - 12th place. Georgia is followed by Estonia (17), Lithuania (23), Latvia (24). The situation with doing business is worse than in Russia in Tajikistan (139th place), Ukraine (145th) and Uzbekistan (150th).
In conclusion, I would like to note that the sector of small enterprises, like nothing else, is capable of fundamental changes in the socio-economic situation of the post-crisis period. However successful development development of this sector of the economy is possible only in the conditions of a competent state policy aimed at supporting it.
