MINSK, 19 October (BelTA) – A number of suggested tax innovations have been explained by Belarusian Finance Minister Yuri Seliverstov on the air of the First News TV channel, BelTA has learned.
Speaking about taxation innovations, Yuri Seliverstov identified several important blocks. The first one is rates specified in Belarusian rubles. It is necessary to bring them up to date, to index them taking into account inflation. The taxation of tobacco and smoking systems will change. Rates on them will be raised. Rates on tobacco will be raised by about 12% while rates on vapes will be raised by up to 20%. “We are getting back to enforcing excise duties on smoking systems,” he remarked. “Naturally, it may not be entirely correct to raise excise duties on fuel, which contribute to the price of food and the rest. Because all the people will feel it instantaneously.”
Suggestions have been made to revise property taxes to enable certain fairness. “We had different rates for self-employed businessmen and legal persons. The difference could be twice as much. We saw cases when self-employed businessmen owned everything and leased the assets to legal persons, thus saving money. Certainly, if we talk about a natural person with one car, then the revenues may not be that big. But if we talk about legal persons and dozens of vehicles, then it is a totally different story. It is necessary to equalize them to prevent abuses,” the finance minister stressed.
The Belarusian government introduced higher rates on premium automobiles in the past. The general public is now concerned about expensive and powerful motorcycles. “In our conditions a motorcycle is a luxury item. This is why suggestions have been made to raise tax rates on powerful and expensive motorcycles similarly to rates on [premium] cars. Not by ten times, to put it bluntly, but by five times. On those, which are new, rather powerful, and expensive,” Yuri Seliverstov said.
Real estate taxes will be adjusted as well. “For those with apartments exceeding 150m2 and apartments exceeding 250m2… I guess not everyone is aware of the fact that such apartments exist but there are thousands of them. We suggest setting the multiplier for apartments in excess of 150m2 at 2 and for apartments in excess of 250m2 at 3,” the official said. “Members of the parliament have yet to discuss how the general public will look at it. It will allow bringing the cost of the square meter, which is used to calculate taxes, a bit closer to the real value.”
It has been suggested to use the same approach for taxing single-family houses. “In other words, the rates on houses of over 200m2 will be slightly higher. The rates on houses larger than 300m2 will be even higher,” the official added. “We estimate that roughly 27,000 tax payers will be affected.”
Suggestions have been made to fine-tune the income tax rates. “There are some, who receive big revenues. Those are mainly revenues other than wages: some payments from enterprises, dividends, revenues received as a self-employed businessman, who pays income tax on their operations,” Yuri Seliverstov noted. “When we set the rate at 25%, then the additional income slightly exceeded Br200 million last year. This is why suggestions have been made to raise the rates even higher for those, who earn much more.”
At least 1,000 people will be affected. According to Yuri Seliverstov, judging by today’s earnings the additional income will be in the vicinity of hundreds of millions. “It will happen in 2027 if our suggestions are approved. But rising the income tax rates for all citizens is not justified at this junction,” he summarized.
Follow us on:
