Russia to Spare Some Businesses from Taxes in Second Quarter

Russia will exempt small and medium-sized businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic from most taxes due in the second quarter, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced.

• Under the plan, those companies will still have to pay value-added taxes. Individual entrepreneurs will also qualify for the relief.
• The government will refund taxes paid by the self-employed for 2019, Mishustin said Wednesday.
• The government also increased the number of sectors eligible to receive tax relief to cover more retail trade businesses, including vending machine operators, according to Decree No. 657 published Wednesday.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin in March ordered the government to compile a list of the sectors worst hit by the new coronavirus that should receive tax exemptions. The list originally included the transportation sector, notably airlines, as well as the hospitality, tourism, sport, and entertainment industries.

Check out Bloomberg Tax’s country-by-country roadmaps covering direct and indirect tax developments.