No breakthrough measures in anti-crisis plan of Russian Government - media

Vedomosti studied the anti-crisis plan of the Russian Government in full format. As previously reported, the business will be provided with supportive measures such as a moratorium on tax inspections, suspension of bankruptcy, tax break, and deferment of insurance payments for small businesses.

Besides, it is supposed to compensate for losses to the transport and tourism business, to support cultural, sports, leasing companies.

Developers are subsidized with interest rates on loans for project financing.

The authorities promise to monitor price increases and subsidize loan rates that enterprises will take to build inventories.

Trucks with essential goods for a month will be exempted from weight control and will remove the restriction on their movement in the city center.

The access of foreign drugs and medical devices to the Russian market is being simplified, and preferences for domestic manufacturers in government procurements have been partially canceled.

Import of food and essential goods is simplified - import duties are reset to zero according to the list to be approved. The restriction of goods and food export is possible.

It is planned to strengthen the employment control, especially in single-industry towns. For those who have lost their jobs, advanced training courses and community service will be organized.

Experts interviewed by the publication rated some measures as insufficient or inappropriate.

The delay in insurance premiums will result in an additional burden after three months when they still have to be paid. The construction sector does not need project financing subsidies (a minority of developers have switched to it), but a reduction in mortgage rates to increase the influx of home buyers, industry experts say. According to their calculations, subsidizing a mortgage would cost 50 billion rubles in four years.

Accordingly, the most effective measures to save the economy after the end of the epidemic would be to reduce the key rate and tax breaks for business and the population, economists believe.

The Russian Government allocates 300 billion rubles for anti-crisis measures - 0.3% of GDP.