19 March 2024, Tuesday, 11:48
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Rebellion Of “Social Parasites” Is Brewing In Belarus

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Rebellion Of “Social Parasites” Is Brewing In Belarus

Belarusians don’t want to give the last of their money to the authorities.

Do the officials have an opportunity to change the scandalous decree “On the prevention of social dependency” in a new way, to make 400 thousand employable Belarusians to come out of the shadow?

Belarusian tax authorities are notifying the citizens, who are “not participating in the financing of public spending,” on the necessity to appear in the inspection as soon as possible and to give appropriate explanations, “Zavtra Tvoej Strany” (“Tomorrow of your country”) writes.

Together with the tightening of labor legislation – in the form of the amended law on employment of population, which came into force on October 24 – this has created a reason for the growth of social tension.

As noted by the academic director of the Belarusian Economic Research and Educational centre BEROC Katsiaryna Barnukova, if you want to bring the wages out of the shadows, you need to understand, what has driven them into the shadows.

– For example, contributions to the Social Protection Fund (SPF) is often a heavy burden for employers and they try to evade the payment of fees, – the expert stresses. – The tax on social parasites won’t help in this situation, because this will help to bring out of the shadows only the minimum wage, and the remaining amounts will still be paid in envelopes.

According to experts, the problem can be solved either by reduction in SPF rates or by a tighter binding of social benefits – such as pensions – to the size of the official salary.

– Another common reason for tax evasion – the inability to run official business due to a number of administrative barriers and inspections, – Katsiaryna Barnukova notes. – Entrepreneurs often don’t register not because they want to avoid paying the taxes, but to avoid inspections, checks and other procedures that make their business impossible.

According to the interlocutor, the solution is obvious: the state should reduce the administrative burden on the employers and should liberalize the business environment.

Trade unions are ready to act

Not all Belarusians voluntarily agree to pay a fine for social parasitism, the Chairman of the Belarusian Trade Union of Radio Electronic Industry Henadz Fyadynich said recently to “Salidarnasts”.

– Some people are afraid and they decide to pay the fine, but there are not many of them, – the trade union leader explains. – There is also other group of people, though not numerous too, who are ready to fight until the end, even to appeal to the international courts. But the majority of our population goes, as is said, “neither here, nor there” – they are waiting what will happen next.

It's obvious that Belarusian officials are waiting for the reaction of the society, and enthusiasm of tax officers in demanding of payment of the infamous fee for “parasitism” will depend on it.

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