Zviad Chumburidze, Secretary General of EU-Georgia Business Council believes, that the worst economic crisis for small and medium-sized businesses will start in January-February.
In a conversation with bm.ge, Chumburidze assessed the government's visions on the current situation and said that Georgia should guide the examples of Lietuva, Latvia and Estonia:
"We should follow the example of medium-sized countries, how they helped small and medium-sized businesses. According to that model, people who are practically on the verge of unemployment have been funded and subsidized in Lietuva, even for a few months. The crisis has started in Georgia today, but it will get worse in January-February. This will be the hardest period for small and medium businesses. Small and medium-sized businesses will not be able to recover if the government does not subsidize, at the expense of the funds we have received in the form of long-term loans. These funds should be divided correctly and the state must take into account the expenditures of small and medium-sized businesses", - said Chumburidze.
As for the benefits already made by the government, most of them will be expired by the elections.
"I ask our business companies about the assistance, subsidies and etc, but they do not see it. The costs incurred by the business must be calculated very logically, accurately and thoroughly. As for me, I do not know what the Covid Foundation's income was spent on. We proposed to the government to create a unified council and it was even a one-year project, at this time the business and the government should work jointly. This is the easiest thing to do and this is a chance to recover”, said Chumburidze.
According to Chumburidze, we have to learn to live with problems amid pandemic. Nothing will happen if changes are made to the Code on one-year benefits.
“Small and medium businesses can be exempted from all taxes for even 6 months. If a business is closed, the state will not receive a single penny from a dead business. Benefits cannot be given to the big businesses, but the business that employs 5 people, the government should help. Every small company has a problem today," he said.
