(Source: http://tverigrad.ru/publication)

The Russian Ministry of Finance began to think about reducing the program of support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the next year. According to the proposals of the agency, the financial support may amount to 4.6 billion roubles (excluding capital investment) instead of 12.1 billion. This was reported by ‘Kommersant” on Friday.

The Ministry of Finance proposes to take the money for SMEs from the remains of funds that were previously allocated to the SMEs Corporation (as of May 1 of this year, its accounts have 37 billion roubles). The publication received a letter from the Minister of Economic Development Aleksei Ulyukayev addressed to the First Vice Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov where he sharply criticizes the initiative of the Ministry of Finance. According to his opinion, such a step contradicts “the budgetary legislation and the SMEs Development Strategy until 2030”. In addition, he pointed out that, according to the law, the funds of the SMEs Corporation can be sent only to “provide warranty support measures and the establishment of a national system of guarantee organizations”.

“According to the Law on Entrepreneurship, the objectives and functions of the SMEs Corporation can not duplicate the powers of the Ministry of Economy and the Regional Authorities for the implementation of this program” – Ulyukayev stressed. The official, in his turn, insists that the support of the program should be increased. Its funding should at least match the level of the years 2013-2015 (21-23 billion roubles annually).