Krasnodar, 17 December. Our today’s interviewee is Dmitri Lotsmanov, a deputy of the regional Legislative Assembly.
Q.: Which of the announced support measures have proved the most efficient for the business sector?
A.: Frankly speaking, until recently it seemed impossible that the government may render assistance in return for preservation of jobs and wages – even if it was a forced and temporary measure. It is worth asking if the governments of other countries are also supporting their businesses in the same way in the current conditions of pandemic and constraints. Speaking of the situation on the whole, I would like to note that on the one hand, now it is more difficult for entrepreneurs to survive – the market is filled up with services and high-quality products, and it remains highly competitive. On the other hand, it has become much simpler to start a business and become a success, provided all business stimulation measures we can see today. What I mean is national projects, federal and regional business support programs, lowered credit rates, tax holidays, etc. I have a personal example of my own: our participation in the national project “Development of agricultural complex” enabled us to take up cattle breeding.
Q.: However, you stated that the business sector is still facing various problems. How can it overcome them, what must be changed in the legislation to facilitate the existence of business companies?
A.: The current pandemic has one single benefit – at least here, in Russia – which is reduction of the number of checks and audits. The government introduced moratorium on them, and would you believe that we breathed a sigh of relief. Speaking of the laws that govern the business sector, I should say that it is too much detailed in some respects. It contains some requirements that can hardly be observed during the production cycle. In a number of cases, they are quite laboured, making the working process more difficult and the price of the finished product higher, but not giving a due synergetic effect. On the other hand, the very approach to checks and detection of violation is drawn up in such a way that the auditors must necessarily find something and carp about something – otherwise they would be found inefficient or suspected of a corruptive conspiracy with a businessperson. This is why all checks almost always finish with a penalty.
Q.: In a couple of days, on December 17, President Vladimir Putin will be holding his large annual press conference. If given a chance, what would you ask him?
A.: I would ask him to charge the respective bodies to develop a new law or code for the business sector, which would elaborate in detail the conduct of business rules and its governmental support together with a ‘roadmap’, responsibility issues and control principles. I would entrust the task to real businesspersons – and if they would find me worthy, I would be glad to be part of that team.
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