Changes in the law that will affect entrepreneurial business in 2022

February 11, 2022, Moscow. — SberSolutions and Business Environment (part of Sber ecosystem) have conducted a joint survey of 800 micro and small business entrepreneurs operating as sole individual entrepreneurs or LLCs (OOO) in different regions of Russia. The surveyed entrepreneurs reviewed the new regulations that became effective at the beginning of 2022.

According to the survey, entrepreneurs (about half of respondents (47%)) designated the increase in the income limit for the simplified taxation system as the most favorable amendment to the law for small businesses in 2022. Two-thirds of respondents (66%) acknowledged that they monitor changes in the law to avoid penalties and fines from regulatory authorities.

69% of small businesses monitor changes in legislation relevant to their industry. For the overwhelming majority of entrepreneurs (70%), the main channel for obtaining information about new amendments is the mass media. Every third respondent (32%) gets information from their partners or employees, every fourth (26%) from specialized legal portals, and another 17% of respondents use educational platforms and thematic Telegram channels to stay up to date with key regulatory developments.

Vitaly Tarasov
CEO of Delovaya Sreda
"Our survey supports the proposition that entrepreneurs need and seek concrete knowledge, including regarding changes in legislation. For micro and small businesses in Russia, the timely receipt of such knowledge is an opportunity to earn extra money or save money, avoid unforeseen fines, and assess the financial burden on business. Every third respondent also answered that they monitor amendments to the law to choose the optimal legal form of doing business. This means that the changes that have come into force are relevant not only for existing small businesses, but also for potential entrepreneurs planning to start their own business."

More than half of the survey participants (58%) are aware of the switch to electronic sick leave certificates due in 2022. Another 49% of respondents have heard at least once that social insurance contributions will increase for individual entrepreneurs in 2022, while 45% of respondents have heard about an increase in the income limit for the simplified taxation system. And only 13% of entrepreneurs are aware that certain categories of employees can take unscheduled leave.

Stanislav Nefyodov
CEO of SberSolutions Russia and CIS
"I would like to note that although the results of our survey show that small businesses see changes in legislation as neutral, many have welcomed the new developments in digitalization of processes as well as the switch to electronic document management. This indeed means that companies will be able to optimize their processes by simplifying document management, speeding up the signing of documents. This will also significantly reduce paper costs, which is important in today's ESG agenda."

Overall, most respondents (54%) see the adopted amendments as neutral, another 18% see them rather negatively, while 12% think they are positive, and 8% consider them completely positively or negatively. Two-thirds of entrepreneurs (67%) branded the increase in social insurance contributions for individual entrepreneurs as the most negative change in legislation that will affect their business in 2022. Another 10% of respondents were against raising the base for calculating social insurance contributions to employees, and 8% of survey participants were dissatisfied with the cancelation of scheduled inspections of cash registers and the greater powers conferred to the Federal Tax Service to conduct unscheduled inspections. Business owners also gave their seal of approval to the increase in the income limit for the simplified taxation system (48%) and the switch to electronic sick leave certificates (18%).

Entrepreneurs are compelled to monitor changes in legislation mainly because they want to (i) avoid fines and penalties from supervisory authorities (66%), (ii) gain opportunity to earn extra money or save money (47%), and (iii) submit notifications to the tax office in due time (34%).

Delovaya Sreda is a Sber ecosystem company which was founded in 2012. The company develops entrepreneurship by helping start-ups and existing businessmen find an idea, launch their business, and achieve success through knowledge and services.

SberSolutions (formerly Intercomp) is a leader in business process outsourcing and financial consulting in Russia and the CIS*.

The company has been working for more than 27 years with the largest Russian and international organizations in all sectors of the economy, and over 30,000 entrepreneurs use SberSolutions services for small businesses.

SberSolutions provides accounting and reporting services, HR and change management services, legal and tax services, advice on operational performance, back-office outsourcing, technology solutions, IT consulting, as well as security and business continuity services. It is a partner of global outsourcing and is part of Sberbank ecosystem.

SberSolutions was established based on Intercomp which was founded in 1994.

*According to RAEX ranking for 2021.