UPDATE - St. Petersburg To Support SMEs Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

ST. PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th April, 2020) St. Petersburg will support small and medium-sized businesses amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the governor's administration said in a statement.

City governor Alexander Beglov on Wednesday signed a relevant law aimed at providing support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In particular, tax breaks are being introduced for SMEs at risk. These include hotels, public catering, tourism, passenger transport organizations, barber shops, dry cleaners, organizations engaged in the repair of computers and household appliances, as well as small businesses that provide additional education, culture, sports, leisure and entertainment services.

"The law reduced tax rates for the simplified tax system to 3 percent for the taxable item � income and up to 5 percent for the taxable item � income reduced by the amount of expenses. These rates are set for the tax period of 2020. The law lifts the obligation to make advance payments on organization property tax and land tax, as well as on transport tax (for passenger motor transportation) for 2020," the administration said.

Also, the amount of property tax payable to the budget of St. Petersburg for hotels and organizations involved in holiday center and resort activities was reduced by 50 percent.