Benefits for renting non-residential premises. Benefits for small businesses: what you can count on. Benefits do not apply to office premises

"The Main Book", 2009, N 21

(How to draw up an agreement in such a way as to avoid tax risks)

Almost all cities are now full of banners and posters advertising cheap rent, offering: “2 months free”, “bonuses for moving to us”, “utility as a gift”, “0 rubles for every second month” and the like. But what is good for advertising is unacceptable for a contract. Although, it turns out, not everyone understands this. Let's see what adverse consequences the use of advertising slogans in a lease agreement can lead to and what they can be painlessly replaced with.

Unnecessary tax risks

In any case, if the wording of the contract provides for free use of the premises for some time (for example, “the first N months are free,” “the last N months are free,” “every second month is free”), then:

  • tenant will be required to include in non-operating income the cost of rent for the relevant periods<1>. The tenant must determine the amount of this income based on market rental rates for similar areas. And in principle, the tenant must either document the market price or order an independent assessment;
  • landlord will be obliged to charge VAT also on the cost of “free” rental, write out (in one copy) and register in the sales book an invoice for the cost of free use<2>. By the way, the tenant will not be able to deduct this VAT.<3>.

Landlords should also keep in mind that the tax authority may, during an audit, exclude from their “profitable” expenses depreciation accrued for “free” months on leased space, qualifying such “free” lease as a transfer of premises for free use<4>.

And if the tenant does not yet reimburse the landlord for the cost of consumed electricity and utilities and this cost can be accurately determined, the tax authority can “remove” these expenses from the landlord<5>.

If you stipulate in the agreement that the tenant pays utility bills as rent, then all of the above tax risks will be accompanied by civil legal risks. Firstly, paying for utilities is not rent. And it turns out that the tenant in such a situation uses the premises free of charge with all the ensuing tax consequences<6>. And secondly, we can say that the parties to the agreement have not agreed on the amount of rent. This means that the lease agreement is not concluded. Accordingly, the landlord has the right not only to evict the tenant at any time, but also to collect from him the cost of the actual use of the property. This value is recognized as the rental price that existed at the time when the use ended and in the place where it took place.<7>.

<1>Clause 8 of Art. 250 Tax Code of the Russian Federation; clause 2 of the Information Letter of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated December 22, 2005 N 98.
<2>Subclause 1, clause 1, art. 146, paragraph 2 of Art. 154, paragraph 3 of Art. 169 Tax Code of the Russian Federation; clause 16 of the Rules, approved. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 2, 2000 N 914; Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 05.05.2009 N 03-07-11/133.
<3>Articles 171, 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
<4>Clause 16 art. 270, paragraph 3 of Art. 256 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
<5>Clause 16 art. 270 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
<6>Paragraph 12 of the Information Letter of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated January 11, 2002 No. 66.
<7>Clause 2 of Art. 1105, paragraph 1 of Art. 1104, art. 1102 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Making advertising a contract clause

Of course, the tenant and the landlord are not interested in such unfavorable consequences. This means that it is necessary to formulate the terms of the agreement on the amount of rent so that the financial consequences for the tenant and the landlord remain the same as the advertisement promised, and the risks disappear. Let's look at the most popular advertising tricks of landlords and see how they need to be reformulated in the contract.

"The first N months are free"

Let's say the advertisement says that the rental rate is only 300 rubles. per sq. m per month (very attractive rates for Moscow), with the first 2 months free when renting for a year. Then the terms of the contract should look like this:

  • the rent is 250 rubles. per sq. m per month (300 rubles x 10 months / 12 months);
  • The annual rental cost is 3,000 rubles. per sq. m. (300 rub. x 10 months).

That is, in financial terms, such conditions will be equivalent to advertising ones, but without the tax risks associated with gratuitous use.

Note

The advertising ploy in the form of “the first month is free” was not invented by landlords. The same scheme for attracting clients exists in the software trade, in the advertising industry, in equipment rental, in the field of health services, etc.

And of course, this is not Russian know-how at all. Providing premises for free use for at least the first month of rent (the so-called trial period) is practically the norm in the practice of private housing landlords and commercial real estate landlords in Western countries. Such conditions are provided subject to long-term lease, usually from 1 year. Of course, at the same time, the contract provides for a penalty for early termination, which will more than compensate the landlord for the first “free” month. Only there it is, in fact, a business custom, and companies and citizens do not have to hide it with florid wording of the contract in order to avoid additional taxes for “free use.”

"Every Nth month is free"

This is also a common suggestion from landlords. Here, the tenant and the landlord can avoid unpleasant tax consequences in the same way as we have already described above - it is necessary to rearrange the terms of the agreement in such a way that there is no mention of “free” months in it at all and “free” is ensured by distributing the total rental price for the entire term of the contract for each month of rent.

Let's say the advertisement says that the rent is 300 rubles. per sq. m per month, but every second month is free for the tenant. Then the contract must indicate the rental rate of 150 rubles. per sq. m per month.

"Everything is free, you only pay utilities"

The obvious way out in this situation is to set the rental price at a level approximately equal to utility costs, and stipulate in the contract that the rent already includes the cost of utilities.

If the cost of utilities is subject to strong fluctuations, then it is possible to establish a certain minimum amount of rent for tenants, but stipulate that the tenant reimburses the landlord separately for the cost of consumed utilities. Although, in principle, it is not necessary to stipulate this in the contract, because this payment procedure is established directly in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation<8>.

<8>Clause 2 of Art. 614 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Rent at low rates

And now we come to the simplest, tax-safe and also convenient way of providing a “discount” to tenants. This method may well replace all the types of discounts we mentioned and other exotic offers from landlords ("bonuses", free repairs, etc.). After all, you can arrange the conditions for rates and payment in the contract as follows:

  • set the base rental rate at a low level that is extremely attractive for tenants;
  • determine that the condition for receiving such a rate is the tenant’s strict compliance with certain requirements;
  • provide a system of coefficients for the base rental rate, applied in case of failure to comply with these requirements.

For example, the base rate is 150 rubles. per sq. m per month. However, if payment is late for the next 2 months, the rent will be applied with an increasing coefficient to the rate of 1.2, if you refuse to rent 30% of the space - with a coefficient of 1.3, etc. That is, fulfilling the conditions required by the landlord in advance will be motivated for the tenant by a low base rental rate and “penalty” coefficients for non-compliance.

By the way, let’s immediately reassure tenants - the risks of additional tax charges with such a preferential lease arrangement do not affect them in any way. After all, such taxable income as material benefits from the purchase of goods (services) at reduced prices, in Chapter. 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation on income tax or in Ch. There is no “simplified” Article 26.2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, unlike, by the way, from Ch. 23, dedicated to personal income tax<9>. So if the landlord rented out the premises to you at a meager price, several times different from the market price, then this is his headache.

For your information

About the sources of market prices, read the article “Checking prices for marketability” in the journal “Glavnaya Ledger”, 2009, No. 14.

<9>Article 212 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Risks of additional charges to the “market” level for lessors

If landlords initially set a very low rental rate in the contract, they run the risk of facing additional basic taxes during a tax audit (VAT, income tax under the general taxation system or tax under the simplified taxation system) based on rental rates adjusted to the market level<10>. But landlords have an almost 100% chance of challenging such additional charges. After all, as a rule, tax authorities make the following mistakes when making decisions:

(or) The tax authority, indicating that the lessor allowed a price deviation of more than 20%, compared the lessor's prices and market prices. However, comparisons should be made between rates from the same landlord over a short period of time.<11>. Thus, if rental rates are reduced for all tenants at once, there will simply not be significant deviations that give tax authorities the right to charge additional taxes. There are no grounds for additional charges even if there is only one tenant, for example, if the landlord rents out his free space one-time at meager prices - after all, there is no significant deviation of prices from the average level used by the landlord<12>;

(or) When checking the “marketability” of a price, the tax authority did not take into account conditions such as fluctuations in consumer demand for goods (work, services), marketing policy, etc.<13>. But lately, landlords have been forced to “reduce” prices precisely because of a drop in demand;

(or) the tax authority compared prices for non-identical (heterogeneous) premises: on different floors, at different addresses, etc.<11>. After all, it is difficult to find two completely identical premises: an office with an area of ​​10 square meters. m and an entire floor of a building are far from identical (homogeneous) rental objects, as well as an office in an extension to the building and a room with the same consumer qualities, but located at the central entrance to the building<14>.

Moreover, the landlord can justify significant deviations in prices in several ways, for example, by the heterogeneity of specific premises, and the long-term lack of demand for the premises that the landlord wants to rent out at dumping prices. Lower prices may be applied to so-called anchor tenants who rent large areas (to attract or retain them). In this case, rates can be differentiated depending on the area of ​​the premises being rented. Rates for new tenants may also be lower if these new tenants are offered so-called drains - premises in a less favorable location for which there is low demand. The goal of the landlord in such a situation is to increase the occupancy of its premises, which, for example, in the retail sector is beneficial to all other tenants.

In addition, it will be extremely difficult for tax authorities to prove in court the level of market prices in a specific area and for a specific period of time until which they assessed additional taxes. As a rule, they fail to prove the identity of the premises being compared, or the courts have reasonable doubts about the status of the source of information on market prices. For example, in disputes about the “marketability” of rental rates, courts usually come to the conclusion that tax authorities used incorrect sources of information about market rental prices, for example, advertising magazines, acts of government agencies on tariffs for the rental of state property, or certificates from commercial organizations that are not appraisers<15>.

* * *

Thus, with proper execution of the contract, the landlord can keep all his advertising promises, and the tenant can receive his “advertising expectations” - and at the same time avoid tax risks. As for the actual low rental prices, in the vast majority of cases, additional assessments by tax authorities as part of monitoring the market level of rental rates are recognized by the courts as illegal due to the poor evidence base of the tax authorities. Over the past 2 years, there have been only a few dozen similar cases in federal courts, of which tax authorities won only a few. As a rule, tax authorities consistently win disputes about the “marketability” of rental rates only when the “optimization” is visible to the naked eye - for example, when extremely low rates are set only for interdependent tenants<16>.

<10>Article 40 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
<11>Subclause 4, clause 2, art. 40 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
<12>Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow Region dated October 21, 2008 N KA-A40/8542-08.
<13>Clause 3 of Art. 40 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
<14>See, for example, Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service dated July 31, 2007 in case No. A55-16334/2006; FAS ZSO dated September 17, 2008 N F04-5628/2008(11555-A46-15); FAS NWO dated January 15, 2007 in case No. A56-52120/2005.
<15>See, for example, Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Northern Territory of January 15, 2007 in case No. A56-52120/2005.
<16>See, for example, Resolutions of the FAS VSO dated November 20, 2008 N A74-126/07-F02-4627/08; FAS VVO dated December 22, 2008 in case No. A11-916/2008-K2-24/8.

P.A.Popov

In accordance with the resolution of the Moscow Government dated July 01, 2013 No. 424-PP “On the creation of an Interdepartmental Commission for the provision of property support to small businesses and amendments to legal acts of the Moscow Government” (hereinafter referred to as the resolution) from January 1, 2014, the use of benefits when calculating rent for non-residential premises is carried out on the basis of a decision of the Interdepartmental Commission on providing property support to small businesses (hereinafter referred to as the Interdepartmental Commission).

Currently, the Moscow Government has decided to establish a minimum rental rate for 2019 4,500 rubles per sq. m per year to all small businesses renting non-residential properties area up to 300 sq. m, under contracts concluded without tendering.

IMPORTANT: the status of a small business entity must be promptly extended for a new term in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Development of the city of Moscow. The corresponding extract from the register of small businesses must be submitted to the Moscow City Property Department.

If you are a small business entity and rent non-residential premises located in the property treasury of the city of Moscow, area over 300 sq. m Before the end of the calendar year, you need to send an application to the Interdepartmental Commission to consider the issue of applying the minimum rent rate for the next year in accordance with the current regulatory documents of the Moscow Government, attaching a package of documents.

In accordance with paragraph 5.1.2.2 of the appendix to the resolution, it is necessary to submit documents confirming the use by a small business entity of the labor of disabled people, provided that the average number of disabled people among employees for the tax and (or) reporting period is at least 50 percent, and the share in the payment fund labor – at least 25 percent.

To confirm the average number of disabled people, you must submit:

– a copy of the staffing table with attached copies of medical and social examination certificates and orders for hiring disabled employees.

To confirm the share of disabled people in the wage fund, it is necessary to submit: – a copy of the RSV-1pfr form, a copy of the SZV-6-4 form, attaching a copy of the report on accrued and paid insurance premiums.

These reports are presented for the last two quarters.

  • Documents are accepted at: Moscow, Bakhrushina street, building 20.
  • Opening hours: Monday – Thursday from 8:00 to 17:00, Friday from 8:00 to 15:45.
  • increasing the maximum area of ​​real estate in the city of Moscow, which is subject to the preemptive right of redemption for small and medium-sized businesses, up to 1000 sq. m;
  • provision of payment by installments for up to 3 years.

The Moscow government is beginning to take decisive measures to eliminate the shortage of kindergartens in Moscow. Along with the large construction of new state kindergartens, a special program has been launched to create places in preschool institutions with the help of private preschool institutions.

The program is implemented in accordance with Moscow Government Decree No. 145-PP dated March 11, 2013 “On the specifics of leasing non-residential facilities located in the capital’s treasury to private educational institutions implementing the main general education project of preschool education.”

The main goal of this program is to help private businesses and take on part of the costs associated with organizing private kindergartens. The city is interested in the creation and development of private preschool educational institutions, in the development of the private education sector and the creation of additional places in nurseries.

From the Moscow budget, private educational institutions are allocated subsidies for almost 17 thousand kindergarten students (35 thousand rubles per year each) and school students (63 thousand rubles per year). In total, private education covers 5,795 preschoolers and 16,698 schoolchildren.

Concession agreements will also be concluded with organizations renting premises from the city for private kindergartens. After their reconstruction, the rental rate will be 1 ruble per square meter per year.

But the requirements are different. For example, the city does not require a private kindergarten built on a plot of land to accept children from the city waiting list. A private kindergarten created under a concession agreement is obliged to provide 25% of the places to those on the waiting list.

Moreover, parents will pay the same amount for their stay as in a regular public kindergarten. The city will reimburse these expenses: for each child on the waiting list taken to a private kindergarten with which a concession agreement has been concluded, the budget will pay 170 thousand rubles per year.

Necessary conditions for a potential tenant - he must have a license to carry out educational activities, the premises after renovation, current or major, must meet all fire, sanitary, technical and other requirements, at least 80% of the children must be residents of Moscow.

The Moscow government has established preferential rent for non-state educational institutions - 1,800 rubles per square meter per year.

The program will be applied only to private schools and kindergartens that have a license. Already now, institutions renting premises from the city or from budgetary institutions of the Department of Education can provide a license and receive a benefit.

Otherwise, to recalculate at a reduced rate, you must obtain a license before June 1. If the receipts have already been paid, the overpayment will be applied toward future payments.

Participation in the competition is not difficult and consists of 6 stages:

– pick up and view an object,

Read the documentation

Transfer the deposit and submit an application,

– take part and win the competition,

– conclude a rental contract.

As part of this resolution, OJSC Bank of Moscow presented investors with loan programs on special terms, adapted for participants in the city project to organize private gardens.

In our country, the government is trying, especially in recent years, to pay increased attention to the promotion of small businesses. For this purpose, a number of benefits have been introduced, including preferential rent of municipal property. What kind of benefit is this? In what cases is it provided? What are the conditions for its operation? Our experts answer these questions in this article.

Categories of small businesses in Russia

To talk about the preferential rent offered by our state for small businesses operating in the country, you must first understand what a so-called small business is. By the concept of “small business,” economists mean, first of all, the entrepreneurial activity of fairly small companies (firms, enterprises, organizations) that are not associations.

According to the criteria regulated at the federal level, small businesses should include:

  • individual entrepreneurs (IP);
  • farms of various types (peasant, farm);
  • cooperatives (production, agricultural, consumer);
  • business partnerships or communities.

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Since 2017, small businesses must have:

  1. The annual revenue limit (this includes the sale of not only finished goods, but also services) is 800 million rubles.
  2. The share of participation in the authorized capital of other commercial organizations (they should not belong to the scope of either small or medium-sized businesses) - from 49%.
  3. The average number of working individuals is from 15 to 100 people.

In addition, any company that falls under these criteria and exceeds their limits can still be classified as a small business for a period of two to three years. This was done specifically so that entrepreneurs could take advantage of special preferential conditions for the development of their business (they also include preferential rent).

Rent and its types

In the course of explaining the issues that interest us, we should pay a little attention to the concept of “lease”. Translated from Latin, this word means “to rent out.” In legal documentation, this means a certain property agreement, according to which property (for example, the area of ​​​​a room or building) is transferred for temporary use to an individual or legal entity called a “tenant”. There is a mandatory fee for rent, the amount and terms of payment of which are specified in the contract. Such a document will only be valid if it is signed by both parties - the landlord and the tenant.

There are several types of rental of non-residential buildings (premises):

  • with the right of subsequent redemption (this condition is necessarily reflected in the relevant securities);
  • long-term (the contract is concluded for a long period of time);
  • current (temporary use of the area);
  • preferential (provided by the state for certain categories of businessmen).

The conditions for each type are established at the legislative level of our state.

Preferential rent in 2018 for small businesses

This type of hiring refers to administrative benefits with which small business entrepreneurs can avoid some of the difficulties associated with renting municipal premises.

The main mechanism for the operation of such a benefit is as follows: local (regional) authorities lease premises (buildings) to entrepreneurs from the small business category under certain conditions for a period of up to five years with the pre-emptive right to subsequent redemption.

The conditions for receiving benefits regarding the rental of non-residential buildings of municipal property include:

  1. An application submitted by an entrepreneur to the Interdepartmental Commission.
  2. The applicant must be on the list of the Register of Small Business Entities.
  3. The leased building (premises) is used only for its intended purpose.
  4. The rented area is not subleased (of course, without the consent of the lessor).

These conditions, on which preferential rent is provided, can only be used by those representatives of small businesses working in the field of:

  • culture and sports;
  • healthcare;
  • education;
  • social nutrition;
  • trade (network of social stores);
  • consumer services;
  • craft and industrial activities.

Federal legislation also stipulates preferential rental conditions for entrepreneurs who employ able-bodied disabled people as employees.

In order to reduce the financial burden of small business owners, as well as to give them the opportunity to preserve their social activities, while maintaining the largest number of jobs, government officials provide the opportunity to rent non-residential buildings or premises in them at a minimum preferential rental rate. Thus, this year in Moscow the minimum rental rate for buildings that are not related to the housing stock continues to be in effect for the period until July 1. Its size is 3.5 thousand rubles per square meter of non-residential space (this preferential rent is valid for a year).

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Preferential rent: registration procedure

To receive the appropriate benefits for the right to rent municipal premises, you must:

  1. Contact the Interdepartmental Commission (under the City Property Department) of the locality with an application for the provision of property support when renting a specific building (premises).
  2. Submit for consideration:
    • a copy of the lease agreement for the selected building;
    • confirmation of the intended purpose of the premises used for rent;
    • documentary evidence of permission to carry out any type of activity (for example, a license).
  3. Your application will be considered for about a month, as employees of the City Property Department will check the authenticity of all the documents you submit:
    • is there any sublease;
    • whether the lease agreement is drawn up correctly;
    • whether the rented building can really be used for its intended purpose;
    • Are there any grounds for providing you, as a small business representative, with preferential conditions (that is, is preferential rent even possible in your case).
  4. Based on the results of the inspection, an appropriate decision will be made to provide you with property support (this means the minimum (preferential) rate of rent for the building).

Only after the described procedure can you take advantage of the right to benefits for small businesses regarding the rental of non-residential space.

If you are a small business and decide to exercise your rights to preferential rent, here are some things to remember:

  • preferential rent may not always be profitable, so calculate in advance all the conditions and proposed options, taking into account the traffic of the area in which the premises are located;
  • the contract should be concluded short-term, that is, for a short period of time, otherwise in case of small benefits it will have to be terminated, and this entails the payment of a monetary penalty;
  • carefully study the rental documents so as not to fall for the tricks of scammers (the contract must include all the key points that a preferential lease provides - terms, cost, right of subsequent purchase, etc.).

And finally, if you have any doubts, it is better to use the services of a real estate company (qualified specialists will help you not only choose non-residential premises that suit the parameters, but also correctly draw up all the necessary documentation).

bisidei.ru

  • business societies;
  • business partnerships;
  • production cooperatives;

Since 2016, the list of tax benefits for small businesses has been supplemented by the right of regional authorities to establish even lower tax rates on their territory for payers of UTII and simplified tax system than those provided for by these regimes. Thus, the tax rate for UTII can be reduced from 15% to 7.5%, and for the simplified tax system – from 6% to 1%. In fact, regions can create real tax havens on their territory with almost zero taxation. All that the state requires from entrepreneurs registered in these regions is the creation of jobs and the payment of insurance premiums for workers.

Finally, in the period from 2015 to 2020, newly registered individual entrepreneurs have the right to work within two tax periods (maximum two years) after registration under tax holidays, that is, at a zero tax rate. To do this, you will need to satisfy a number of conditions:

  • be registered for the first time as an individual entrepreneur after the entry into force of the regional law on tax holidays;
  • choose the tax regime of PSN or simplified tax system;
  • carry out activities specified in the regional law on tax holidays.

Thus, tax breaks for small businesses in 2018 allow you to start your own business by investing most of the income received in the further development of the business, rather than giving it to the state in the form of taxes.

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Administrative benefits for small businesses in 2018

It is no secret that the legislation regulating business activities in Russia can be called complex, confusing, and replete with severe sanctions for its violation. One of the reasons forcing entrepreneurs to go into the shadows is administrative difficulties, such as complex reporting procedures, personnel registration and cash payments, frequent inspections by supervisory authorities, reluctance of banks to issue unsecured loans, etc.

To resolve these issues, the state has proposed a number of administrative benefits for small businesses, which are in effect in 2018:

  1. Payers of UTII and PSN have the right to make cash payments without using a cash register until July 2019. The exception is the sphere of trade and retail. Here, CCP for organizations and individual entrepreneurs with employees will be required from July 2018.
  2. Organizations that are classified as small can conduct accounting in a simplified form
  3. Small organizations and individual entrepreneurs have the right to conduct cash transactions in a simplified manner and not set a cash limit.
  4. Employers belonging to the category of small businesses have the right to draw up fixed-term employment contracts for a period of up to 5 years (as a general rule, employment contracts with most categories of employees are indefinite). In this case, two conditions must be observed: the number of personnel cannot exceed 35 people, and the employee must give his consent to conclude a fixed-term contract.
  5. Supervisory holidays for small businesses for the period 2016-2018 - a ban on conducting scheduled non-tax audits. Unscheduled non-tax audits, as well as audits from the Federal Tax Service and funds, can still be carried out at any time.
  6. Regional and local authorities in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation can enter into lease agreements for buildings and premises with representatives of small businesses on preferential terms for 5 years, and also provide tenants with a preemptive right to purchase such property.
  7. When receiving a bank loan, small businesses can turn to guarantee organizations to receive a government guarantee, which significantly increases the borrower's chances.
  8. A special benefit is provided for the participation of small business representatives in government procurement - government customers are required to make at least 15% of the total annual volume of purchases from this category.

Financial benefits for small businesses in 2018

Here we are no longer talking about improving the conditions for doing business, but about benefits for small businesses and individual entrepreneurs in the form of direct financial support, for example, subsidies:

  • to reimburse part of the costs under leasing agreements
  • to reimburse part of the costs of paying interest on loans and borrowings
  • to reimburse part of the costs associated with participation in congress and exhibition events
  • for beginning entrepreneurs (up to 500 thousand rubles).

Free subsidies and grants are provided to small businesses under the Federal program valid until 2020. We have compiled a database of subsidies for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation; each region offers its own benefits for small businesses.

www.regberry.ru

Benefits for small businesses are advantages that the state provides to certain categories of entrepreneurs, which puts them in a more advantageous position compared to other business entities. The preferential regime for the activities of individual entrepreneurs, micro-enterprises and small businesses reduces the receipt of taxes and contributions to the budget, but it solves other issues of national importance:

  • Ensuring self-employment and further pension provision for entrepreneurs without employees (freelancers, artisans, persons providing various types of services);
  • Creating new jobs and removing the burden from the state to support the unemployed;
  • Reducing social tension in society due to increased well-being of the population;
  • The development of new types of activities and the organization of small innovative productions, which, although they do not guarantee large profits, do not require large financial investments.

Now in Russia there are more than 20 million people of working age who do not officially work anywhere and are not registered with the tax authorities as entrepreneurs. The state is interested in bringing this category out of the shadows as much as possible, so that at least these citizens take on the issues of self-sufficiency. To do this, it is necessary to make running a legal small business simple, convenient and profitable, which means:

  • Minimize the tax burden for this category of taxpayers;
  • Reduce administrative barriers to state registration of small businesses;
  • Simplify the reporting of small businesses to government agencies;
  • Soften administrative and tax controls and reduce the amount of penalties for violation of the law;
  • Provide special conditions for small businesses to receive orders for the production of goods and sales of services, in particular, within the framework of government procurement.

But before we find out what benefits the state provides to small businesses in 2018, let’s figure out what small businesses are and who belongs to them in 2018.

Who is a small business?

Law No. 209-FZ of July 24, 2007 identifies several categories of small and medium-sized businesses:

  • individual entrepreneurs;
  • peasant (farm) farms;
  • business societies;
  • business partnerships;
  • production cooperatives;
  • agricultural consumer cooperatives.

It is small businesses that benefit from greater government support, not medium-sized ones, so let’s take a closer look at the criteria for inclusion in this category. Amendments made last year to Law No. 209-FZ have made it possible since 2016 to classify a larger number of businessmen as small businesses (including micro-enterprises):

  • The limit on annual revenue from the sale of goods and services for small enterprises increased from 400 to 800 million rubles, and for micro-enterprises - from 60 to 120 million rubles.
  • The permitted share of participation of other commercial organizations (that are not small and medium-sized businesses) in the authorized capital of a small enterprise has increased - from 25% to 49%.
  • The average number of employees remained the same - no more than 15 people for a microbusiness and no more than 100 people for a small enterprise.
  • The period during which a businessman belongs to this category, even if he has exceeded the limit on revenue or number of employees, has been increased from two to three years. So, if the limit was exceeded in 2017, then the company will lose the right to be considered small only in 2020.

As for individual entrepreneurs, the same criteria for dividing into small and medium-sized businesses apply to them: by income and number of employees. Those individual entrepreneurs who are not employers are assessed by the revenue received during the year (data in the table above). Individual entrepreneurs working only on the patent tax system are classified as micro-enterprises.

Unified Register of Small and Medium Enterprises

Tax breaks for small businesses in 2018

The most important advantage of tax breaks for small businesses is that they directly reduce the amount of taxes that a businessman must transfer to the budget. In Russia, there are four special taxation systems with low tax rates, which can only be used by small and micro businesses:

  1. STS - annual revenue limit in 2018 - no more than 150 million rubles, number of employees - no more than 100 people.
  2. UTII - there is no limit on annual revenue, but the number of employees should also not exceed 100 people.
  3. PSN - only individual entrepreneurs can work in this mode, the permitted number of employees is only 15 people, and for all types of individual entrepreneur activities in total. The annual income limit for an entrepreneur with a patent is 60 million rubles.
  4. Unified Agricultural Tax – there is no limit on annual revenue, but the share of income from the sale of agricultural products must be at least 70% of the total income. The number of employees is limited (no more than 300 people) only for individual entrepreneurs and fishing organizations and individual entrepreneurs. There is no such restriction for agricultural organizations.

An additional implicit benefit for the simplified tax system Income and UTII is a reduction in the advance payment and quarterly imputed tax by the amount of insurance premiums paid in the reporting quarter for employees and individual entrepreneurs for themselves.

Read more: Limit base for calculating insurance premiums in 2018