Tax benefits for small and medium-sized businesses in the subjects of the Northwestern district as a reflection of the spatial development policy

This article is devoted to the study of tax benefits in the regions of the Northwestern Federal District for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). The authors note that the tax policy of the state is not only a tool for supporting certain types of economic activity in the country and regions, socio-economic development of the regions of the Russian Federation, but also a tool for spatial development, which is especially important given the urgency of the problem of high spatial polarization of Russian regions. The article analyzes the existing tax benefits by regions and sectors of the economy. The authors identify types of economic activities that have got priority state support through the tax benefits tool and compare them with promising specializations of regions, prescribed in the Spatial Development Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025. Based on the study, we can conclude that at the moment the main task of the SME support policy in Russia is to ensure economic growth of regions and the country, while the task of spatial development is not a priority. In addition, regional authorities consider the tax incentives instrument as a way to gain competitive advantages over other regions today; accordingly, the concept of regional competition prevails over the concept of strengthening interactions among regions. At the same time, it is the strengthening of interregional interactions in Russian realities that can become a source of spatial development and accelerated modernization of the Russian economy. It is especially important under the sanctions pressure from foreign countries and the need for import substitution. The article also reflects the problem of insufficient effectiveness of strategic planning in the Russian Federation.