‘Belarusians Will Hide From Taxes’
- 2.01.2024, 15:11
The Economist talks about the amended Tax Code.
In 2024, the Tax Code in Belarus will change significantly. Among the most notable innovations are a tax on “wealth”, as well as the obligation of individuals to report accounts in foreign banks. They intend to oblige mobile operators to leak even more information to officials.
The website bgmedia.site, on condition of anonymity, asked an economist with an academic degree to comment on the current tax policy in Belarus:
— Indeed, progressive taxation is applied in different countries. But, as a rule, these are countries with a steadily growing economy and a high motivation system. People who pay 35% and sometimes even 50% of their income in taxes must not only trust their state, but see exactly what they are getting from the state for this money. Which, unfortunately, is not happening here.
By European standards, Belarus is at a very low level of economic development. The real earnings of the absolute majority of the population, to put it mildly, do not reach (in the regions not even close) the average parameters that officials depict in statistical reports. Therefore, the so-called flat tax scale encouraged people to hide from taxes to a lesser extent. When profit begins to play a significant role in the amount of tax and a flexible scale appears, people may want to somehow spread this profit across different enterprises, and individuals may want to hide part of their income.
And one moment. Convincing the population of the correctness of the decision, officials cite as an argument that in our country there is a minimal level of income stratification, and a progressive tax scale, they say, will become a guarantor of social justice. However, the problem is that our overall level of income is very low, but there are several professions (programmer, pilot, financier, some directors, officials and law-enforcers), in which people earn significantly more. And between them there is an abyss. Only a few will fit the standard set by the state.