What steps should the government take regarding coronavirus?

The state is the "father" of society. It must save “family members” who are in a difficult situation. He has not only moral responsibilities but also economic duties. The fact that the country's borders were crossed by the coronavirus, which is considered a global pandemic, across borders, has led states to take a variety of steps for economic purposes.

The consequences of the coronavirus should not be seen as an economic crisis. This is also a social crisis. Maybe it's more of a health crisis. In this case, it is a crisis of all kinds. Ways to overcome such crises must be in fundamental and anti-crisis content.

Foreign practice lessons

We have seen the progressive experience of the passing weeks only in the example of developed countries. Those states looked after their citizens. Developing countries, on the other hand, have been content with episodic steps bearing symbolic content. The most exemplary speech on the experience of developed countries came from the Prime Minister of Canada. Speaking on state television, Prime Minister Trudeau called on the population to stay at home and take care of themselves. Do not worry about money and work, this is the job of the state. Your state will do it. Following this speech, the Canadian government allocated $ 87 billion for coronavirus-related measures.

The US practice

The decision of the US government, unlike other countries in the world, was that they direct both fiscal and monetary policy on the same plane.

After the coronavirus gained global prominence, the US Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, said in a public statement that they were accountable to their citizens. The US government has decided to pay $ 1,000 per person and $ 500 per child. Not content with this, the government will resume support if the duration of the impact of the virus is not eradicated by May.

State support for business was not forgotten. The US government has announced $ 300 billion in aid to small businesses. An additional $ 200 billion has been allocated to other businesses.

The Fed has decided to allocate $ 700 billion to regulate the financial market. At the same time, the Central Bank lowered the discount rate to 0.25%.

The US government initially allocated more than $ 1 trillion for these purposes. The amount of package then reached $ 1.8 trillion. Now it has been tripled and reached $ 18,000 per capita, setting a world record for coronavirus support.

France

The French government has more come to the forefront by supporting the payment of utility bills of citizens. Addressing the population regarding a coronavirus pandemic, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the country will stop collecting utilities - gas, electricity, water, as well as housing. During the quarantine period, people are exempted from additional costs so as not to create additional material burdens. The state has allocated $ 373 billion for these purposes. This means $ 5,560 (₼ 9,500) per capita for every French citizen.

Germany

The German government has more focused on small and medium-sized businesses. In Germany, the state will give € 9,000 to an enterprise with 5 employees, € 15,000 with 10 employees, and € 25,000 with 50 employees. Initially, the German government decided to allocate $ 614 billion. The per capita distribution of these funds was $ 7,400 (₼ 12,500). It then increased the amount of its support slightly to $ 820 billion.

Russia

In Russia, discounts will be provided to companies that provide online consumer services to citizens. Steps have been taken to exempt them from VAT. The Russian government has announced a six-month tax holiday for businesses, as well as a decision to defer the payment of dividends by state-owned companies for up to six months.

Although effective measures are not enough, the creation of a fund that can overcome this crisis and paid leave of citizens in quarantine with the retention of wages are also envisaged.

State measures were also effective in the post-Soviet republics. Latvia has allocated a $ 2.7 billion aid package for this purpose. Neighboring Georgia has imposed a three-month moratorium on this process for customers who owe money to banks.

Turkey

The Turkish government has increased pensions to take special care of the elderly. The minimum pension has been increased to ₺ 1,500.

In some sectors, VAT has been waived for six months, ranging from daily consumption to heavy industry. VAT on domestic flights was reduced from 18% to 1% for 3 months.

Loans of independent entrepreneurs to Halkbank were postponed for 2 months without additional interest for April, May, and June.

In total, Turkey has allocated $ 15.3 billion for the coronavirus.

Azerbaijan

It is true that an order was signed to spend ₼ 1 billion in this direction. This amount is 1.3% of the country's GDP or 4.2% of budget revenues.

The Fund to Support Fight Against Coronavirus has also been established. ₼ 10 million was allocated to this fund. This means that the per capita share of these funds is ₼ 1. As of today, about ₼ 70 million additional funds have been collected in the Fund. The paradoxical point of this campaign is that no one still knows from which source the state bodies (universities, state companies, etc.) transfer money from their budgets to this fund.

We must take measures to protect Azerbaijani citizens and businesses from this disease, which continues to gain global prominence. These measures can be concisely grouped as follows:

SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• A tax holiday should be announced for business entities until the summer months;
• The aid package especially for small and medium businesses should be determined;
• The state should exempt citizens from utility payments (gas, electricity, water) until the summer months;
• Tax breaks should be provided for companies that provide services to citizens, especially online services so that they can stay at home;
• Due to the fall in world oil prices, the price of low-fuel gasoline (A-92) in our country should be reduced so that citizens can use more private cars, if necessary, rather than public transport;
• Daily medical products such as masks, alcohol, gauze should be produced inside the country;
• One-time financial assistance should be provided to Azerbaijani citizens throughout the country, regardless of whether they work or not, in the amount of 50% of the average monthly salary per capita (₼ 250-300) in the country;
• The liabilities of citizens and businesses to the banks should be frozen for 3 months and they should be granted a term of respite;