MINSK, 12 November (BelTA) – An income tax will be imposed upon the interest rates on short-term deposits starting from April 2016. The decision is laid down in Belarus' President Ordinance No.7 concerning the attraction of cash assets to bank deposits, which the head of state signed on 11 November 2015, the press service of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus informs.
“The document envisages changes to the preferential tax treatment of the income generated by individuals in the form of interest rates on bank accounts and deposits in banks and non-bank credit and financial organizations. Thus, starting from 1 April 2016 the income tax will be imposed upon the interest rates gained from the actual placement of funds in current (settlement) bank accounts and deposits for the period of no more than one year (in the Belarusian rubles) and no more than two years (in the foreign currency). The income tax will be imposed only on the interest rates and not the whole sum of the deposit. The income tax will be levied only in case the interest rate exceeds the size of the current bank interest rate on the demand deposit account,” the National Bank said.
If the income tax is to be paid, the bank will calculate the sum of the tax and transfer it to the state budget. When an agreement is signed, the bank is obliged to provide detailed information on the terms of the deposit and the sum of the income tax transferred to the state budget.
