80 thousand entrepreneurs may lose business

Discontent and spite keep growing in markets.

Public association Perspektiva addressed Lukashenka with a demand not to introduce the norm of the decree on the obligatory character of accompanying documents for individual entrepreneurs. Unless that happens, they do not rule out new protests.

The information comes from the text of the address, which has been sent to the ruler’s administration today. Perspektiva’s leader Anatol Shumchanka sent a copy of the document to the editorial office of the charter97.org web-site.

“According to the draft decree “On certain issues of retail sales by individual entrepreneurs and other natural persons”, individual entrepreneurs, who pay the single tax for retail trading on goods listed in the subparagraph 1.1 of the paragraph 1.1 of the article 296 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus, have to transport, store and sell these goods at retail outlets, public catering outlets and markets according to the documents, confirming the purchasing of such goods.

At the current moment this requirement is impossible to fulfill for individual entrepreneurs. The thing is that the majority of them bring goods from Russia, where there is a serious problem with issuing confirming documents, when goods are sold to Belarusian entrepreneurs. This fact does not allow our business to operate with accompanying documents. The invoices, offered in Russian markets as such documents, are mostly fake, which means criminal responsibility for our individual entrepreneurs. No one wants to knowingly violate the law”, - the statement reads.

The results of a survey, carried out by the Perspektiva in markets and trading centers showed that about 80 thousand active entrepreneurs will not be able to operate, while business will be at risk.

“Already today discontent and spite are growing in markets. Entrepreneurs feel deceived and deprived of the right for work. The unemployment of active people may sharply increase negative sentiment, especially in the regions.

Soviet-like managers at ministries are restless about the fact that in the past 25 year the country saw the formation of a new class – the class of proprietors and entrepreneurs. They take responsibility for the results of their business, they make their own living and do not demand of excessive social benefits and support of the government. They create jobs, but this is all not okay with the government. The collapsing plan-based economy, based on large enterprises with large government’s support and cross-subsidies, cheap loans and the similar is becoming a more and more significant problem. The situation has been aggravating year after year. Government’s programs of development of various industries fail one after another, their implementation does not provide the necessary effect”, - the statement says.

In these conditions, they think at the Perspektiva, the persecution of individual entrepreneurs look absurd, but this is a part of the policy aimed at distracting the attention from the economy’s actual problems, which require solutions, and refocussing on farfetched ones.

“An attempt is taking place to pass the buck, the strangling of all the sector of individual entrepreneurship through the introduction of new administrative restrictions on doing business. These are the links of the same chain: the hiring ban on individual entrepreneurs, increased tax burden and rent. The latest novelties: the introduction of restrictive technical regulations and planned action of accompanying documents. This are the most acute and urgent problems for individual entrepreneurs today and for the nearest future. In case the government implements them, it may be the last drop, the limit that will put an end of the institution of individual entrepreneurship in Belarus.

In fact we bring all the market transformations achieved in independent Belarus to the starting point. The next logical step would be bringing back a profiteering article to the Criminal Code. This day is not far. It is closer than it seems”, - the statement reads.

The Perspektiva offers the authorities to change their mind and stop the persecution of individual entrepreneurs.