From bakeries to beauty shops, Russian businesses are feeling the pain

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

60% : The new tax system is here to stay.
53% : The revenue threshold was similarly lowered for those using the "patent taxation system," in which small businesses made fixed annual payments -- usually only tens of thousands of rubles -- instead of a percentage of their revenues or profits.
53% : The beauty industry weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, with government support like tax breaks and deferments, as well as ways to negotiate with landlords to waive rent for a while.
52% : " When the tax reforms were adopted last year, pastry shop owners Ilsiya Gizatullina and Railya Shayhieva and decided to shut down their business in Kazan.
50% : Demchenko, who supported the campaign, told AP that of four family-oriented beauty salons in her chain -- three of her own and one opened through a franchise -- she had to close one and sell another to stay afloat due to the dramatically increased taxes and other costs, as well as lagging demand.
49% : Standing in front of the bakery -- called Mashenka, after his oldest daughter -- he pleaded with Putin via video to look into new tax reforms that are significantly increasing the burden on small businesses like his.
48% : " Russian media quoted Maksimov as saying sales rose for a while, but without a change in tax policy, he contemplated closing.
48% : As part of the reforms, more businesses will be paying increased taxes in 2027 and 2028, since changes will affect those with even lower revenues.
47% : The value-added tax has been raised by 2% and revenue thresholds for requiring businesses to pay it have been lowered drastically.
46% : Putin raised Mashenka's case at a government meeting last month, and Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov proposed measures allowing Maksimov's business to be exempt from paying VAT and lower his other taxes.
45% : Maksimov's plea to Putin failed to reverse the tax reform, which lowered the threshold for requiring businesses to pay VAT from 60 million rubles, or $783,000, in annual sales revenue, to 20 million rubles ($261,000) this year and to 10 million rubles ($130,500) by 2028.
45% : This year, those whose revenues exceed 20 million rubles would need to pay at least a 6% tax on their revenues, and at least a 5% VAT.
45% : In their televised exchange, Maksimov said he had been using the patent system for eight years, and Putin responded by underscoring the need for tax reform to tackle "uncontrolled" illegal imports but promised to look at what can be done.
45% : "We understand very well that it won't be abolished the day after tomorrow, and there will likely be an even higher tax burden in the future," Gizatullina said.
43% : Like Demchenko, they cited the massive tax increases, rising costs and falling demand.
42% : We understand that raising taxes is necessary," Maksimov said.
42% : The tax reforms meant she was no longer eligible for the patent system and was looking at paying much higher taxes, as well as having to hire a full-time accountant to handle the paperwork, she said.
41% : Business owners interviewed by The Associated Press described a steady decline in demand for their goods and services, a sudden increase in costs as suppliers adjust to the tax reform, and a tax burden that's now tens of times higher.
39% : Oil revenues are dwindling, the budget deficit is up, and military spending that fueled robust growth has leveled off.
39% : The first deadline for taxes is in April, and people will see that they have nothing to pay with, and that's when the collapse will begin," she said.
38% : The new tax regulations add to the pressure, Weafer said, and while that's unlikely to wreck the economy, it will impede growth when the war ends.

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