Russia's government has a plan to cut the self-employed some slack

Boris Titov, the Entrepreneurs’ Rights Commissioner, has submitted a proposal to the federal government that would grant a special individual entrepreneur’s status to self-employed Russians.

The new status would not allow these individuals to hire any staff, and the license would cost at least 10,000 rubles ($170), but Titov says it would be a step forward in the “legalization” of self-employed Russians.

In the past year, 595 self-employed Russians have registered in Russia, though the country actually has roughly 20 million such entrepreneurs. Titov blames “unbearable tax burdens” for self-made businesspeople’s reluctance to register formally.

The new self-employed registration category would exempt self-employed persons from various tax and statistical reporting requirements, and allow them to work without cash registers. Titov wants to extend the opportunity to businesspeople in 45 different industries, including home repair, hairdressing, cosmetic services, and more.

In November 2016, Russian lawmakers passed a two-year tax holiday for certain categories of self-employed workers, allowing domestic workers, homecare specialists, and tutors to work without registration as a legal entity and without the status of an individual entrepreneur.

In December 2016, President Putin ordered the government to simplify the legal status of self-employed Russians and make it easier for them to work within the law.