Additional incentives to encourage SMEs to get out of the shadows - Timur Kulibayev
Additional incentives will help to take small businesses out of the shadows and reduce unofficial employment of workers.
Problems and prospects of development of SMEs were discussed at the meeting of the relevant committee of NPP RK "Atameken" with the participation of the Chairman of the Presidium Timur Kulibayev.
At the meeting, chairman of the Committee for Development of SME Raimbek Batalov spoke about the results of a study conducted in 2018 on the initiative of Atameken and the Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Forum. The objects of research were more than a thousand shops near the house and beauty salons in Almaty and Almaty region.
“The results showed that small businesses rarely serve customers on a non-cash base, only 7% of outlets have POS terminals, 35% do not have cash registers, 14% do not have business process automation and only 7% of stores issue receipts. It is clear that entrepreneurs will not rush to automate processes until they feel the benefits in terms of profits and losses. Therefore, the task of Atameken is to show the specific advantages of installing software and expand incentive measures to get entrepreneurs out of the shadows with specific examples,” Raimbek Batalov said.
At the legislative level, incentives proposed by Atameken are already provided. The threshold for VAT registration has been increased from 75 million to 364 million tenge for entrepreneurs working under a simplified declaration and using a three-component integrated system - POS-terminal, online cash register and automatic accounting system (ERP). Similarly, the size of marginal income for employees on a simplified declaration has been increased - from 121 million to 298 million tenge. Also, since 2019, businessmen working under a patent and a simplified system, when using a three-component system, are compensated for the costs of purchasing equipment.
“Unlike cash registers and POS-terminals, the use of a three-component system is not mandatory. But, as practice shows, in addition to benefits and transparency, it allows you to increase the profits of small businesses. Today, owners of small stores record data in the old fashioned way in notebooks, which does not guarantee one hundred percent control over financial flows and the movement of goods. If an entrepreneur uses the system, he will be able to see the full picture of the object and exclude losses,” he said.
Another problem identified during the study was the informal employment of workers. This does not guarantee them a social package. To address the issue, Atameken suggested that the authorized agencies should reduce the percentage of mandatory payments and deductions for each employee for small businesses and simplify the deduction procedure itself.
Chairman of the Presidium of Atameken NCE RK Timur Kulibayev focused on the need to expand training programs aimed at improving the competencies of entrepreneurs.
“Small businesses lack the necessary knowledge for development. Perhaps an entrepreneur is not against improving accounting, finding new suppliers, participating in government programs, but he does not have the necessary competencies. Atameken needs to develop training programs in three main areas: increasing tax literacy, using digital technologies to introduce POS-terminals, online cash registers, and accounting systems, as well as training employees in the field of trade and services. This will be a good help for entrepreneurs. It is necessary to make proposals for the inclusion of training tools in the new state business support program, ”Timur Kulibayev said.
Following the meeting, Timur Kulibayev noted the need to continue work on creating additional incentives for encouraging small businesses to get out of the shadow and switch to cashless payments.
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