ACORT opposes the bill on local fees

The Association of Retail Companies has approached Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to veto the bill on local fees if adopted.

According to ACORT, the bill contradicts the president’s opinion on the inexpediency of increasing the tax burden on non-resource sectors of the economy until 2018.

The document violates the basic principles of the state tax policy, - entrepreneurs will be forced to pay fees before they receive their first profit.

The mechanism proposed in the bill for the payment, supervision of collection, the procedure for calculating fees has not been worked out and contains a large number of inaccuracies, ACORT believes. Collection rates will be set by local authorities, which will have unlimited possibilities for raising them. In aggregate, according to the Association, these standards open up a lot of opportunities for abuse and corruption by local authorities, which will be responsible for monitoring compliance with the legislation on fees.

The bill was developed in secret from the business community, was not widely discussed with experts in the field of tax policy, writes AKORT. Outside the regulatory framework, online stores will remain, as well as companies registered in foreign jurisdictions that carry out electronic trading on orders of Russian buyers.

According to the Association, many companies, in connection with the discussion of the draft law, "are revising plans for business development, and some are already considering options for closing entire areas of business activity."

ACORT calls for the creation of a working group with the participation of the business community and the development of amendments to the Tax Code, which will contribute to economic growth, and is also ready to provide expert and analytical support to the working group.

Recall that the bill on local fees for entrepreneurs of 22 activities was proposed by State Duma deputy Alexander Makarov on November 5.