Above all, the attitude of the state structures towards small enterprises. To date, the measures that have been adopted to support small businesses have been contradictory and inconsistent. The granting of reduced tax privileges, for example, was immediately followed by the imposition of stricter conditions in other spheres of activity which blocked the development of small businesses. More often than not, legal acts adopted to support small enterprises usually lack implementation mechanisms. In spite of the many loud statements made in support of small business, the 1996 federal budget allocates only 0.16 percent of total expenditures for their support.
Official neglect affects the political attitudes of businessmen.
A step forward is always followed by a step backward. Without a doubt, it is easier to strangle the one who is smaller. Viktor Chernomyrdin's assurances about government support for private business simply pass it right by. Mr. Orlov cites several arguments to prove his point. State bureaucrats won a victory over the legislature and the latter adopted a system of taxation which, as any sensible person can see, makes it impossible to develop any kind of honest business in the country.