Smolensk region is the winner of the "Lighthouse of the Russian-German economic cooperation" contest in the "Investment-attractive region" nomination
According to the results of the International Economic Congress "Germany-Russia 2014", Smolensk region became the winner of the "Lighthouse of the Russian-German economic cooperation" contest in the "Investment-attractive region" nomination.
At the congress, which was held on July, 7 in Berlin, the heads of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Germany, the Eastern Committee of German economy, the Council of the Russian economy in Germany assessed the regions on several criteria which guarantee the investors conditions for doing business. There were the following criteria: participation of the investor in the public decision-making and evaluating the implementation, access to the publicly disclosed information of the executive authorities of the region, absence of the restrictions to implement projects under the federal and regional legislation, security of entrepreneurial and investment activities, protection of investments and investors' rights in accordance with the federal and regional legislation, etc.
Special attention was paid to Smolensk regional innovations to provide tax benefits to the investors:
- exemption from the corporate property tax on the property created (erected, reconstructed) and (or) acquired as a result of the investment project;
- reduction in the tax rate of the corporate income tax on the profits derived from the investment project implementation by 4.5 percentage points in relation to the tax payable to the regional budget;
- exemption from the land tax for the construction period;
- exemption from the land rent.
Also Smolensk region provides grants to small and medium-sized businesses in order to recover part of the costs of:
- paying the interest rate on loans;
- purchasing equipment in order to establish and (or) develop and (or) the modernize the production of goods;
- paying the first installment (advance payment) at the conclusion of the equipment leasing contract;
- supporting small and medium-sized businesses involved in educational activities on pre-school education programs;
- supporting small and medium-sized businesses involved in handicrafts, folk arts and crafts, agriculture and eco-tourism;
- providing microloans;
- providing guarantees on loans.
The most important direction of providing support for the investors is to provide the investment areas with energy and transport infrastructure, support the investment projects in order to minimize the administrative procedures.
The victory of Smolensk region in the "Investment-attractive region" nomination is a sign of quality meaningful for the potential European partners and a guarantee that an investor can find the most transparent and convenient business environment.
About 300 top-ranking representatives of the economy, science, management and politics of the European Union and Russia took part in the Economic Congress. The main objective of the event is to develop new prospects of joint cooperation and expand the existing contacts.
Also during the Congress there were a number of negotiations with the heads of major German companies interested in placing business in Smolensk region.