Belarusian authorities to search for “parasites”

The government of Belarus has decided to detect economically passive citizens.

“The full portrait of labour resources of the country” has been sanctioned by a special decree of the Belarusian Council of Ministers. The state plans to collect information about economically passive people as well,” underlined the head of the main directorate of the employment policy and population department of the Labour Ministry Mikalai Kokhanau, BBCRussian.com informs.

Now those who stay “behind-the-scenes” would be held on a door-to-door basis: every quarter random inspections of households regarding employment of their members would become regular. Since January ramdom inspections are to start.

A considerably part of Belarusians work unofficially, and the initiative of the authorities is viewed as an attempt to collect taxes from their income.

The unpleasant procedure of re-counting of property and income of citizens threatens primarily to political opponents of the regime, believes the leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Lyabedzka.

“I think it is one more restraint jacket the authorities are trying to put on the dissenting citizens. They are trying to bring them to responsibility. For people not to be involved in political activities. As Lukashenka said, you should not hold rallies; you should take a spade in your hands!” Lyabedzka said.

Critics of the Belarusian order are sure that the powers that be are not concerned by studying the labour market.

“Some time ago worried and indignant parents addressed us: school teachers gave children questionnaires asking to tell about salaries of their parents, sources of income. It looks as if teachers failed, and now the National Statistics Committee is ordered to carry out the inspection,” believes a human rights activist Liudmila Hraznova.

The official unemployment level in Belarus is a little more than 1%. However, only the person registered at the state employment service is considered an unemployed.

According to independent economists, up to 20% of the working-age population are insistently searching an extra job, income, extra earnings, but hiding that, as they do not want to pay taxes.