Factors that affect the growth of real incomes of the population were named in Russia

The growth of real incomes of the Russian population depends on the dynamics of real wages, shadow employment and a gradual increase in the minimum wage (minimum wage). First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Andrei Belousov stated this in an interview with Forbes.

Last Thursday, President Vladimir Putin indicated that the real disposable income of the population will grow by 3.5% in the outgoing year.

“Formally, the growth of incomes of the population depends on three groups of factors. The first is the dynamics of real wages. Here we have problems that are mainly associated with state employees. It is no coincidence that the president once again held a meeting with the government on the implementation of the decree that the average salary of state employees should not be lower than the average salary in the regional economy, ”said the first deputy chairman of the government.

In addition, he continued, income growth is hindered by “shadow wages.” “Now this problem is concentrated mainly in the SME sector (small and medium-sized enterprises – ed.), Where more than 20 million people are employed,” Belousov calculated.

He recalled that “in the first wave of covid”, when the authorities “were engaged in the preservation of jobs,” they “studied this sector in detail and found entire industries where there were no employment at all.”

“All employees were registered through civil law contracts with individual entrepreneurs (individual entrepreneurs – ed.). We have launched an experiment in restaurants to eliminate VAT in exchange for whitewashing. Another problem that we are dealing with is the mountain of accountability for an individual entrepreneur, which appears if he hires at least one employee. Together with the Federal Tax Service and the Ministry of Labor, we are trying to make sure that individual entrepreneurs with a small number of employees, up to five people, are exempted from this reporting. But here we need a very clear interaction of the Pension Fund, tax authorities and others, ”the First Deputy Prime Minister said.

Finally, he added, “the third tool is a gradual increase in the minimum wage.” “And the fourth is“ social treasury ”, the transition from categorical support to targeted social support,” Belousov listed.