File on shoes

On Friday, Igor Rudensky, chairman of the Duma committee on economic policy, sent a letter to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on behalf of the committee's deputies, in which he asks to budget for 2013-2015. (to be submitted to the Duma before October 1) 5 billion rubles. to support individual industries that will suffer the most from Russia's accession to the WTO. We need money for the light, textile, leather and footwear industries (3,2 billion), shipbuilding for the fishing industry (100 million), aircraft and helicopter construction (900 million), forestry and woodworking industry (800 million) and lift construction (50 million) - these conclusions were made by a working group of deputies and the Ministry of Economic Development to ensure accession to the WTO.

The situation in the textile and leather and footwear industry even without joining the WTO is alarming: the share of imports is 80%, and after joining the WTO of about 384 000 people employed in the industry, 120 000-140 000 will lose their jobs, warns Rudensky. The committee requests next year to increase from 340 million to 640 million rubles. subsidies to pay interest on loans taken to purchase raw materials, and add another 125 million rubles. to those already provided for in 2012-2013. 125 million rubles subsidies for technical re-equipment, setting the term for such subsidies to 10 years. Another 150 million rubles. must be provided for advertising and exhibitions, which are necessary for the promotion of domestic goods. It should also be exempted for five years from the taxation of part of the profits allocated for modernization, and in this case, 2,5 bln. per year from budget revenues of all levels to cover at the expense of the federal.

Subsidization proposals will be supported only in part, says a Finance Ministry official. "The final figures will become known only on Friday following a government meeting." It is unlikely that these requests will be taken into account - the Ministry of Finance rarely meets halfway, Rudensky himself is pessimistic.

In the spring, United Russia deputies introduced bills to support the agro-industrial complex. The government sent a negative response to the proposal to exempt subsidies to farmers from taxes and extend the tax break for small businesses on imputed income, but now the situation has changed, Rudensky notes. The indefinite profit tax benefit will be preserved - this is one of the main benefits that will allow the agro-industrial complex to remain competitive, Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov said recently.

This support is really needed, but from past experience we can say that the effectiveness of such subsidies is not always high, says HSE professor Alexei Portansky. Because of corruption, sometimes 30-40% of the money does not reach the producer and assistance is not always provided according to the standards of a market economy: it is necessary to help the efficient, not the poor, but this is almost a political issue, the expert sums up. The newspaper "Vedomosti" writes about it.