Vladimir Putin in his message to the federal assembly drew attention to the IT sector

The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during the annual message to the federal assembly drew attention to the development of the IT industry in the country. During the speech, the president cited statistics on the growth of the sector over the past two years. According to him, the market volume is 7 billion US dollars, while tax revenues from the IT sector amount to 54 billion rubles a year, and exports of domestic IT products have doubled since 2014.

Vladimir Putin also mentioned shortfall in income in the amount of 16 billion rubles (taxes not received due to the provision of benefits), but he proposed to extend tax breaks for the sector until 2023, since their role in the growth of the sector is considerable.

In terms of tax breaks we are talking about insurance premiums. Earlier, the Ministry of Economic Development took the initiative to leave them forever at the level of 14% instead of the standard 30%. Now the privilege can take advantage of companies that have been accredited by the Ministry of Communications. The president raised the issue with the extension of benefits, since from 2017, according to the plan, the rate should have gradually increased first to 17%, then to 21% and so on. It also discusses that only companies from the national registry of software producers will be able to take advantage of benefits. This puts an end to the possibility of using them to companies operating in foreign markets or on order.

In the course of his speech, Putin referred to the instructions given by the Ministry of Communications and personally to the Minister of Communications, Nikolai Nikiforov. The agency must submit a project to the IT support fund. The new structure, called the Russian Information Technology Fund, should receive shares of Rosinfokominvest , the state venture fund for investment support for start-ups.

Mr. Nikiforov also touched on the President’s statement that every health facility should be equipped with Internet access. This is especially true for small rural hospitals and remote locations so that doctors can contact their more experienced colleagues. The corresponding order was given to the Ministry of Communications. The cost of modernization and technical equipment of all Russian hospitals and clinics is estimated at 10 billion rubles. It is planned to raise funds from the fund of universal telecommunications services of Rostelecom, which will act as a contractor.

Vladimir Putin also recalled self-employed citizens. According to the President of the country, these individuals cannot be held accountable for illegal entrepreneurship, but give people the opportunity to work quietly, which gives some hope for relief in the field of regulating the activities of freelancers.