Experts spoke about legislative changes in the last month of autumn
The last month of autumn 2023 is rich in legislative innovations that can change the lives of millions of Russians. The range of changes coming into force in November is very wide: the new rules will affect bank borrowers and businessmen, pensioners and car owners, conscripts and conscripts… Experts, as always, will help you understand the nuances of legal innovations.
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From November 1, several categories of pensioners will begin to receive increased pensions. This will affect former civil aviation pilots and coal industry workers. Ex-pilots will be entitled to additional pension payments from the monthly contributions paid by airlines. To qualify for such payments, aviation workers need at least 25 years of work experience in the industry for men and 20 years for women, or 15 years for those who quit for health reasons.
Former coal industry employees must have at least 25 years of mining experience in coal, shale or mine construction to receive the pension supplement. The amount of additional payments varies depending on length of service, average salary and the amount that the company contributed to the Pension Fund.
Also, the pension of those who worked in the Far North will increase by almost 50% — for women, no experience is required less than 15 years, for men no less than 20 years. The pensions of residents of territories equated to the Far North will increase by 30%. To receive an additional payment, you need to submit an application to the Social Fund.
“We are talking about targeted additional payments. The additional payment is assigned if there is a certain length of service as a member of the flight crew. For men it is 25 years, for women — 20 years. It is important to remember that retirement must be from a position that gives the corresponding right to a bonus. And if the number of pensioners who worked as flight crew members of civil aviation aircraft will not be too large for Russia, then the additional payment to pensioners who previously worked as miners is completely different figures. It is clear that they are designed, first of all, for residents of new regions of the Russian Federation — in particular, Donbass, known throughout the world for its coal mines. Therefore, this will be a good addition for pensioners of the DPR and LPR, who devoted their working youth to coal mining and metallurgy. For miners, work experience is also required for such an additional payment: for workers in underground and open-pit mining and those employed in the construction of mines — 25 years or from 20 years — as workers in leading professions in the industry.»
A new preferential program has appeared in Russia — “Arctic Mortgage”, which will begin to be issued from November 1, 2023. “Arctic Mortgage” is similar in terms to “Far Eastern Mortgage”. It applies to housing located in the Murmansk region, the Nenets and Yamalo-Nenets autonomous districts, as well as parts of the territories of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Arkhangelsk Region, the Republics of Karelia and Komi — a total of 131 settlements. Such a mortgage will allow you to purchase housing in these territories at 2% per annum and is available to families where both spouses are under 35 years of age, as well as to doctors and teachers who have worked in the Arctic for at least five years. In this case, the down payment must be at least 20%, the maximum loan size is 6 million rubles, and its term is 20 years. Under the program, you can purchase apartments and townhouses on the primary market, but in rural areas and single-industry towns it also applies to secondary housing.
“It is important that this mortgage will be available not only to those who plan to buy housing in the Arctic, but also to residents of the northern regions of the country — the Murmansk, Arkhangelsk regions, Krasnoyarsk Territory, as well as a number of autonomous districts and regions. That is, the geography here will still be wider than it might seem—that’s the first thing. Secondly, a loan at 2% will make it possible not to leave the region in search of more profitable places. Subsidizing up to 2% per annum is a reason for developers to pay attention to these regions, since there will definitely be a demand for new housing in them, since it is obvious that there are practically no large construction projects there yet. That is, it stimulates investment in the region and the creation of new jobs, which may be followed by an increase in living standards through improved infrastructure. Thirdly, you need to understand that loans for secondary housing will be issued only in rural areas and single-industry towns. That is, the emphasis is on new buildings, and the state expects that developers will begin to build housing there, and not just in the megacities of the European part of Russia.”
On November 3, changes made to the bankruptcy law that apply to individuals come into force. Now Russians can carry out bankruptcy proceedings without going to court if their debt ranges from 25 thousand to 1 million rubles. This range has expanded — previously it ranged from 50 thousand to 500 thousand rubles. In addition, it will be possible to file for bankruptcy again after 5 years, and not after 10 years, as before.
The new conditions for legal debt write-off will mainly affect women on maternity leave and pensioners. To receive this benefit, you need to confirm that child benefits or old-age payments are the main source of income.
You can file bankruptcy out of court through the MFC. The debt will be written off within six months.
“Extrajudicial bankruptcy is intended to facilitate this procedure for people who have debt that cannot be repaid. They may only have a small income, such as pensions or social benefits. In such cases, lengthy litigation is not only pointless, but counterproductive. It drags a person on for months, or even years, during which debts accumulate and time and effort are wasted. In addition, this situation requires the expenditure of resources from the judicial system. It turns out as in the well-known expression — “cutting off the dog’s tail in parts.” It is much more rational to initially simplify and speed up the procedure. To achieve this, the conditions for out-of-court bankruptcy are being expanded so that more people can take advantage of it. But the requirements remain: the citizen must not have property from which to repay the debt, and sufficient income for this.”
From November 1, military pensioners mobilized to participate in a special military operation, as well as those who signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense, will begin to receive additional payments. Previously, when they were mobilized or signed a contract, they would lose their long-service military pension, but now they will receive compensation instead. Compensation will be paid monthly in the amount of 100% of the pension lost due to the return to the troops. In this case, the payment will compensate for the entire period, starting from re-entry into service, and will be made in addition to the usual monetary allowance of the SVO participant.
“There are more than 1 million military pensioners in Russia, but not all of them are suitable for participation in military military service due to age and health. Therefore, it is difficult to say exactly how many of them can count on additional payments — it all depends on the number of people in this category who will sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense or will be called up for mobilization (I emphasize: so far there is no talk of a second wave of mobilization in the Russian Federation). This initiative compensates military retirees for the loss of their pension if they participate in the military service or sign a contract with the military department.»
The time has come for the northerners to be drafted.
Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses are coming into force, introducing fines for imposing additional services when purchasing a car or insurance. Such services include, for example, life insurance, apartments, etc., without which insurance companies refuse to issue a compulsory motor liability insurance policy. Now, for such actions, officials will face a fine of 2,000 to 4,000 rubles, legal entities — from 20 to 40 thousand rubles. Also, if a company refuses to return money for imposed services, its officials will face a fine of 15 to 30 thousand rubles, and legal entities — from 100 to 300 thousand.
In addition, from November 1 in Russia there will be mandatory conditions for equipping cars with an ABS system — anti-lock braking. Thus, now Russian factories will not be able to produce cars without this system. ABS allows you to avoid blocking the wheels when braking to maintain vehicle stability. The braking distance is longer than that of cars without ABS, but the cars will be able to behave better in an emergency.
“As for tightening the rules for purchasing cars, we can say for sure: dealers will consider the fine as an associated risk. 20–40 thousand rubles with an average car price of 3 million does not seem like a significant amount. Officials will also experience a loss of 2-4 thousand rubles. As for fines for refusing to return money, representatives of the automobile business have the opportunity to act according to the situation. Sometimes you can deliberately impose a fine, sometimes you can return the money for the imposed services. One way or another, the court will determine to what extent certain goods and services were “imposed.” Therefore, there is room for maneuver. With MTPL insurance policies — here, in relation to the service, the fines seem significant. And at first glance, it is not advisable to consciously take the risk of a fine. Time will tell how it will be in practice.”
November is the last month of the year when entrepreneurs can pay excess profit tax on preferential terms. This applies to both Russian businessmen and foreign companies with a representative office in the Russian Federation. The tax rate until November 30 will be preferential — only 5% versus 10% at other times (in principle, the tax must be paid before January 28, 2024).
“If companies do not have time to pay the excess profit tax during the grace period, then they will, accordingly, be forced to pay the full tax. According to the law, the excess profit tax is a one-time fee of 10% of the excess profit received by the company over the previous two years. The grace period allows you to pay only 5%. Therefore, as a rule, everyone who falls under this tax will try not to delay it. The tax will affect companies with net pre-tax profit for 2021–2022 of more than 1 billion rubles. Moreover, this applies to both Russian and foreign companies operating in the Russian Federation. Surely the vast majority will take advantage of the opportunity.”
From November 7, prices for paid car parks will change in the capital. Where daily occupancy reaches 90–100%, new tariffs will be introduced. But the maximum parking cost will remain the same. Now within the Third Transport Ring in the daytime the highest tariff is 450 rubles per hour, the increased one is 380. At night from 21 to 8 o’clock it is 200 rubles per hour. At the same time, new paid parking lots will appear on 21st Street, where previously it was possible to park for free. On seven more Moscow streets the price for parking will fall.
“Increasing prices for paid parking in Moscow can have various socio-economic consequences. Thus, higher prices can reduce the demand for parking spaces, freeing up many spaces for those who really need them. This can reduce traffic jams. Also, price increases can become a source of additional revenue for the city budget, which can be used to improve infrastructure and city services. In addition, higher parking prices can make public transport more attractive to citizens, helping to reduce traffic congestion and improve mobility.
However, we should not forget that paid parking in Moscow was already expensive. Especially if you needed to park the car for 2 hours or more, this is almost minus 1000 rubles for the family budget. Therefore, price increases may create additional costs for drivers, especially those who must use a personal vehicle. In general, any price increase by municipal and federal authorities is based on official annual inflation figures.”
It starts a month later than the rest of Russia, due to climatic conditions. The call from November 1 will affect the territories of 10 subjects of the Federation that belong to the regions of the Far North — these are the Komi Republic, the Yamalo-Nenets and Nenets Autonomous Okrugs, the Perm, Krasnoyarsk and Kamchatka Territories, the Irkutsk, Amur, Magadan and Sakhalin regions. It covers men 18–27 years old. The conscription for military service in the northern regions will end simultaneously with other regions of Russia — on December 31, amounting to 61 days.
Foreign buyers will be able to open special accounts for this. The currency received on them is sold to the bank holding the account or it receives permission to sell it at auction. After this, funds in rubles are returned to the account.