He ordered the suspension of Decree No. 3 - “On the Prevention of Social Dependency”, better known as the “Law on Parasites”. Throughout 2017, the fines prescribed by this document will not be issued to Belarusian citizens.
“During March, if necessary, we need to correct this decree. But the decree will not be cancelled. First of all, tell the officials that it will be implemented with the adjustments that I mentioned, ”the press service of the President of Belarus quotes Lukashenko as saying.
The politician also stressed that the goal of the law is not economic, but moral: to encourage the population to go to work.
“Control belongs to the governors and the mayor of Minsk. You should have these lists of slackers in there to make work. And honest people should not have been touched at all. We should not offend people, especially at this time,” Lukashenko said.
“And those who today take to the streets in groups of 200-500 and start screaming, these are not those parasites who are really parasites. These are mainly those people who are offended, to whom we sent these notices for no reason,” the Belarusian leader added.
Since mid-February, mass street protests have been going on in Belarus - there has not been anything like this since the 2010 presidential election. The protest wave, however, was not initiated by the opposition: not so much political activists take to the streets as people who have never participated in public protest actions before. Belarusians oppose the so-called tax on parasites.
Decree No. 3 "On the Prevention of Social Dependency" was a problem for the official Minsk. The document was initiated and signed by Alexander Lukashenko, and for him to publicly back down meant to lose face. But at the same time, it was obvious that the wave of protests was growing, and, which is quite unusual for Belarus, it was going through provincial cities. For example, in Vitebsk, the past protest action against the tax on parasites turned out to be the largest in the history of the city, which neither the authorities nor the opposition expected.
The climax of the protests was expected on the so-called "Freedom Day" - March 25. The Minsk authorities apparently did not want to repeat the 2010 riots that shook the country after the presidential election.
Until now, the speeches of the “parasites” have not been dispersed by anyone - but then their participants massively received subpoenas from the police and “days” according to administrative protocols. At the same time, state television intimidated them with the prospect of “Maidan” and “militants with Molotov cocktails.”
It became clear at the beginning of the week that the decree on parasites would be changed. On March 6, Vice Speaker of the Belarusian Parliament Boleslav Pirshtuk met with representatives of the opposition (which is extremely rare for Belarus) and promised that by mid-March the decree would be seriously revised, and the list of social dependents would be significantly reduced.
In theory, the task of Decree No. 3 was to “bring out of the shadows” people working unofficially, without paying taxes and social fees. However, the fact that "non-state" sociology was banned in Belarus played a cruel joke on the country's leadership. The fact is that official sociologists gave Alexander Lukashenko a figure of 500,000 people who do not participate in financing government spending. Their head of the country, in his speeches, began to publicly call parasites, and soon he signed a decree providing for a special collection from such people.
According to the document, if a citizen does not work 183 days a year (and is not registered as unemployed), then he must pay a special fee - 360 Belarusian rubles($185) for 2015 (until February 20, 2017). And another 420 rubles for 2016 (until November 15, 2017). The total is $400, which is higher average monthly salary in the country. In total, the tax department sent out about 470 thousand notices for the payment of the fee.
That is, every tenth citizen of working age received a “letter of happiness”.
However, the result was unexpected for the authorities: instead of money, they received massive civil disobedience. The vast majority of tax evaders are not underground "guilds" at all, but provincial residents working in dying factories, where they work one or two days a week and receive almost nothing. These people cannot get another job - it simply does not exist. Among the "parasites" were mothers sitting at home with small children.
People also do not want to register as unemployed. Unemployment benefits in Belarus are $10 a month, for a limited time only, and the unemployed must still participate in unpaid public works.
As a result, by February 20 (the deadline for paying the fee), despite threats of fines and imprisonment, only 10% of those who received the notices had paid the fee. On the other hand, protest actions of “parasites” began: in February they took place in Minsk, Gomel, Vitebsk, Brest, Bobruisk and Baranovichi. The action in Minsk has become the most massive since the dramatic events of 2010. But the main thing is that people who had never taken part in opposition actions went out into the streets.
Even the recent increase in the retirement age has not caused such a painful reaction. Not only the authorities were unprepared for such protests, but also the leaders of the opposition, who belatedly and largely to no avail began to try to lead street actions.
While citizens on the streets are outraged that the state is demanding money from the unemployed and mothers with small children, economists point to frank miscalculations in public administration. For example, against the backdrop of a crisis that has been ongoing since December 2014, Belarus loses 70,000 jobs every year. But at the same time, enterprises that really sit without work are often not fired - they are forbidden to do this by local authorities so as not to spoil the statistics.
Meanwhile, the quantity paid services has grown so much that Belarus can no longer be called a "welfare state". Many benefits for schoolchildren, pensioners and "Chernobyl victims" have been cancelled.
Prices in the country are such that everyone who can, try to go for food and consumer goods to neighboring Lithuania and Poland, where everything is half the price. Weekend trips "for purchases" abroad in Belarus were purchased in last years mass character (in particular, Belarusians provide more than 40% of the turnover of shops in Vilnius).
However, the main failure of the tax on parasites is that its administration turned out to be much more expensive than the amounts received in the budget. Since 90% of those who received the notice refuse to pay, officials have to deal with each case individually. As a result, the work was simply blocked tax inspections, local executive committees, and, to a large extent, polyclinics, as doctors have to find out if the “parasite” suffered from diseases that prevented him from working in 2015 and 2016.
In addition, it turned out that the state databases on citizens of different departments do not fit with each other. Often notices were sent to the names of people who had died long ago or were living abroad.
The Belarusian correspondent of Gazeta.Ru also received a “letter of happiness for parasites” from the tax authorities – a requirement to “take part in financing government spending for 2015”. However, then everything was quite simple. It was necessary to get to, show the certificate of the staff correspondent of Gazeta.Ru in Belarus, and then send it by e-mail editorial documents. Two weeks later, a letter was sent back with an official notice that the demand for payment of the fee was "cancelled."
This is what happens to many Belarusians, who, since November 2016, have also received demands to pay a tax on parasites. It is enough to write a statement indicating almost any reason why he could not work in 2015 - and the requirement to pay the fee is canceled.
Probably, this is how the authorities are trying to reduce the intensity of mass protests - not canceling Decree No. 3 itself, but reducing the number of potential protesters.
“The Belarusian authorities will not cancel the decree, but they will not demand payment of tax for 2016. Since 2015, it is more difficult, since some people have already paid the tax. It will not be possible to simply take it and cancel it retroactively - you will have to return the money to those “parasites” who have already paid the tax,” Olga Karach, a Belarusian politician and head of the Nash Dom civil campaign, told Gazeta.ru. “But our state does not return the money.”
However, while Lukashenka promises the opposite. According to him, in 2017 the money will be returned to the "parasites" if they get a job. The funds already raised, meanwhile, will remain in the district and go to schools and other children's institutions.
“I have several acquaintances who had a rather controversial situation, whether they should or should not pay this tax. It is so accepted in our country that the state interprets all doubts in its favor. But then something quite unusual happened: all doubts were interpreted in favor of people, and they were released from payments, ”says the interlocutor of Gazeta.Ru.
“I think that even before the end of 2017, the tax on parasites will be quietly forgotten. No one will ask the tax if he needs to pay something else, but she herself will not remind. It will be such an unspoken agreement between citizens and the state, which will allow the authorities to save face,” added Karach.
183 or more days a year, regardless of the level of income and the amount of tax paid on it
(unless expressly stated otherwise) :
1. Work on employment contract(contract) or on the terms of membership in a production cooperative or a peasant (farm) enterprise;
2. You carry out activities as an individual entrepreneur subject to the payment of taxes on such activities;
3. You perform work under civil law contracts for work, provision of services or creation of facilities intellectual property, With the total amount remuneration of at least 70 basic units based on the size of the BV as of January 1 (minimum 12,600,000 rubles for 2015);
4. You carry out the activities specified in paragraph 1 of Article 295 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus ( single tax without registering an individual entrepreneur) subject to the payment of a single tax for such activities for this period;
5. You were a serviceman, an employee of a paramilitary organization with special ranks, a reservist during classes and training camps, and you were liable for military service during military training and special training camps;
6. You are a lawyer or a notary;
7. This year you carry out activities for the provision of services in the field of agro-ecotourism, subject to the payment of a fee for the implementation of this activity no later than December 28 of the last year. The fact and period of implementation of activities for the provision of services in the field of agroecotourism must be confirmed by the local executive committee;
8. Carry out handicraft activities this year, if the fee for the implementation of such activities was paid before December 28 of the previous year;
9. Carry out creative activities as a creative worker, whose status is confirmed by the creative union of which you are a member, or a professional certificate issued in accordance with the law;
10. If you are a clergyman, a clergyman of a religious organization, a participant (member) of a monastery, a monastic community;
11. If you are registered in a rural settlement or an urban-type settlement, and have been running a personal subsidiary plot. A land plot for housekeeping must be allocated to you or your spouse, or parents (including adoptive parents, adopters), or children (including adopted children), or parents of a spouse (wife), subject to cohabitation and housekeeping . The fact and period of conducting personal subsidiary plots on such a site are confirmed by the rural (settlement) executive and administrative body;
12. You are registered as unemployed or have been vocational training, retraining and advanced training in the direction of the body for labor, employment and social protection;
13. You are disabled (s), in the presence of a certificate of incapacity for work (certificate of temporary incapacity for work) or its (her) duplicate;
14. If you are a mother (stepmother), father (stepfather), adoptive parent (adoptive child), guardian (custodian), raising a child under the age of 7, a disabled child under the age of 18, three or more minor children. Children are not taken into account, in respect of which parents ( single parent) are deprived of parental rights, taken away from the family, brought up in foster families, family-type orphanages, located in children's boarding institutions, educational institutions with a round-the-clock regime of stay;
15. Student (student) of the day department of a vocational school, technical school,
college, other institution of vocational or secondary specialized education, institute, university, academy, other institution of higher or special education;
16. You are in a period of rest provided as a graduate (ce) of an educational institution, to whom (th) a place of work was provided by distribution or assignment to work, lasting 31 calendar days, and a graduate (ce) sent to work as teachers, - 45 calendar days;
17. You are a recipient of a pension, including from other states, benefits from the republican budget, the Social Protection Fund of the Republic of Belarus, including benefits for temporary disability (with the exception of benefits of a one-time nature);
18. Are a citizen entitled to receive a disability or survivor's pension due to an accident at work or an occupational disease and receive monthly insurance payments in accordance with the legislation from Belgosstrakh;
19. Attracted to work during the term of serving a sentence in the form of arrest, restriction of freedom with direction to an open correctional institution, imprisonment, life imprisonment, are in a medical and labor dispensary.
The periods indicated in this column are summed up if they do not match. If there is a match, one of the periods is taken.
And why giving birth to a child or becoming a mother of many children is not the best way out.
And why giving birth to a child or becoming a mother of many children is not a ray
A well-known economist explained how you can avoid the fate of a "dependent" if you were left without a job and could not find a new one.
The Ministry of Labor predicts that about 250,000 Belarusians may fall under Decree No. 1. In the resolution of March 31, 2018 No. 239, the Council of Ministers defined Belarusians employed and not employed in the economy. It also became known that the "parasites" will pay the full tariff for housing and communal services and for the use of residential premises.
Yaroslav Romanchuk, head of the Mises Research Center, at the request of your country's Tomorrow, named 5 ways to "slope" from the updated decree on "parasitism."
The simplest thing is to register as an artisan. You will make one wooden spoon a month or two a quarter, report, imitate that nothing is for sale. The next six months or a year can be devoted to the creation of a pewter or wooden mug.
The second is to have an abandoned plot and grow tomatoes, cucumbers and so on there.
Third - IP registration is a rather expensive story.
Creative people can try to enter into a creative union and say that we are poets, writers, write incorruptibles and for five years compose some pamphlet that should become a contribution to the development of state ideology.
But the simplest thing - and I think many Belarusians will choose this - is to leave the country. First to earn money, and then forever - to cling to the market of Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Russia or Ukraine, as many do, and say: “Come on, this country, whose authorities make us pay for not working, and cannot create jobs. This is the most dangerous thing that follows from this decree.
Those who are raising children under 7 or raising three or more minor children are not included in the list of "parasites". Perhaps, with this decision, the Council of Ministers will increase the birth rate, and many Belarusians will decide to “slope” from “parasitism” by giving birth to a child, or rather three?
Absolutely out of the question. If registering an artisan costs next to nothing, as does self-employment with a plot of land, then imagine how much it costs for a child.
According to the document, priests are not "parasites". And what about their wives who do not officially work?
I think the status of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belarus is such that a clergyman will always find a way to pray for the best solution your question. But this does not apply to Catholics - they do not have wives.
They will allocate them some kind of plot near the military unit, they will take shape as individual entrepreneurs or artisans. Need for inventions is cunning. Psychological support for soldiers and cadets of military units - here you are, an artisan or individual entrepreneur.
Do you think there are many who want to re-register housing so that the "parasite" does not pay 100% for a communal apartment?
It's complicated. It is still unknown how it will be calculated, one hundred percent or not. If the wife is maternity leave, and the husband does not work, how will the payment for housing and communal services be divided? More questions than answers. They confused themselves - so much energy, time and attention that officials (who receive a good salary!) spend on these decisions. For this money, it was possible to raise a whole district from the ashes, build and make a thousand dollar salary.
Unfortunately, in our country such a waste of resources is apparently considered productive. This suggests that the authorities have not learned to admit their own mistakes and have not even learned to put the brakes on them. We breed rule-making mugs, and then we hide behind these mugs and at the same time we claim the title of a great IT country in which there are opportunities for business development, not realizing that today the development of the economy and business is, first of all, human capital. People who are forced to work with taxes and additional payments for services are not free capital. So it won't be productive.
How many Belarusians will end up on commissions on "parasitism"?
If there is a referendum in 2019, then, of course, not enough. The political context is not one to irritate people even more. And it won't do anything but annoyance.
- There is no scientific logic there. It was necessary to present something by April 1, so they presented it. This, in fact, is the face of power.
There will be commissions to figure out which of the Belarusians is a “parasite” and who is in a difficult life situation.
The creation of commissions is provided for by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers dated March 31, 2018 No. 240, which approved the approximate regulation on a permanent commission for coordinating work to promote employment.
- An approximate provision on a permanent commission is the bottom of the Belarusian legislation and legal science, because it can't get any worse, - comments Yaroslav Romanchuk. - The law must be clear, unambiguous, understood by all in the same way. When a provision is called approximate in the law, it is the same as the exemplary Criminal Code, the approximate amount of a fine and punishment.
The expert suggests that the government does not know how to get out of this situation, and therefore leaves decision-making to the mercy of local authorities.
- Executive committees can use this document against those who criticize the authorities. This is a form of neo-feudalism or Belarusian serfdom. Decree No. 1 only strengthens it, - the economist believes.
According to Romanchuk, this document is absurd, and the local authorities have not fallen to such a level of absurdity and will ignore it. For example, to catch an alcoholic for show. Like, look how we work, take care of employment and order.
496317.05.2018 "Evening Bobruisk". Photo from the WB archive.
"Vecherny Bobruisk" has put together all the information that we know about the law on parasites, or rather, the updated Decree No. 1 "On the promotion of employment."
The Council of Ministers decided that Belarusians who are not involved in the economy will now pay for full cost housing and communal services and services for the use of residential premises.
“And it was my idea, no one suggested it to me,” said President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
The main essence of Decree No. 1 is that people work and, accordingly, contribute to the financing of state-provided services, including healthcare and housing and communal services. The main thing in Decree No. 1 is to stimulate employment, the head of state emphasized.
Who was excluded from the list of citizens unemployed in the economy?
To whom in without fail should he go to the commission so that he is not recognized as a "parasite"?
Dismissed or retired citizens during the quarter following the quarter in which they were left without work are not subject to the decree. At the same time, in order not to pay for housing and communal services at full rates, they need to contact the commission that works with parasites and provide the relevant documents. That is, they are not automatically exempted from paying the full cost of housing and communal services, but upon application;
Dismissed due to a reduction in the number or staff of workers, as well as wives and husbands of military and young professionals working abroad;
Under medical supervision during pregnancy and childbirth.
Belarusians working abroad will not be considered "parasites"
Belarusians working abroad will initially be classified as “not employed in the economy” or “parasites”. But if they prove the presence of foreign work of a special commission, they can avoid one hundred percent payment for utilities.
There is a detail in the resolution of the Council of Ministers of Belarus: special commissions will add to the lists of dependents those Belarusians who work, for example, in Russia. These citizens must apply with supporting documents - then they will not have to pay for housing and communal services at full cost.
What if you were a parasite?
The database of the population unemployed in the economy will be created by December 1 this year. The commission will decide on an individual basis who will be classified as "dependents" and who will be "pardoned". But it will be impossible to appeal the final decision of the commission.
Those Belarusians who were included in the lists of “parasites” will be able to apply to the commissions that will be engaged in promoting employment for the population, with applications for exemption from paying full utility bills due to a difficult life situation. A list of reasons that will allow you to receive such an exemption will be compiled by experts from the Ministry of Labor a little later and sent to the regions.
Who will deal with the "parasites"?
The Ministry of Taxes and Duties was instructed to ensure the transfer to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the software - a database that contains information on the participation of citizens in financing public spending.
The Ministry of Labor will compile and maintain this database with all the information about able-bodied citizens who are not employed (for a good reason), as well as about “parasites”.
For each Belarusian, the following will be written there without fail: identification number; surname, own name, patronymic; Date of Birth; floor; citizenship; data on registration at the place of residence; type, series and number of the identity document.
The database, completely filled with information, will begin to work "to its fullest" closer to 2019.
For what exactly and when will unemployed citizens begin to pay at full rates?
The resolution says that "parasites" at full rates will pay for the following utilities:
Those who fall under the Decree “On the Promotion of Employment of the Population” will start paying full tariffs for hot water from January 1, 2019, for gas supply with individual gas heating appliances and heat supply - from October 1, 2019.
Why were only three services included in the resolution?
Belarusians are already practically reimbursing the cost of many housing and communal services. And for these three services, it is not yet planned to switch to full reimbursement.
If the homeowner is a parasite, full tariffs will be included in the fat bill
The Ministry of Housing and Public Utilities explained what to charge full fee for a communal apartment will be only from those parasites who have their own housing. If a parasite does not own an apartment or other housing, they will not charge a communal apartment from him at full rates.
How will payments be calculated if the apartment is registered for a working person whose family has a citizen included in the list?
The innovation will affect only those citizens who own apartments, on which a lease agreement is drawn up, and so on (see above).
In this case, the calculation of payment will be made as usual. If, for example, a woman is not employed in the economy, but her husband is the payer of housing and communal services, they will pay for housing and communal services at regular rates, and not at full cost.
If a citizen included in the list lives at one address, but is registered at another, what apartment will he pay for?
The charge for housing and communal services will be made at the place of residence of the citizen (according to the stamp that is in the passport).
For example: the owner of the apartment is a father who does not work and who was included in the lists. Adult working children live in his apartment (they are also registered there with him), and he himself lives in another place. The volume of services provided will be divided among registered citizens. The citizen included in the list (in this example, the father) will pay 100 percent only for his own volume of services (gas, hot water and heating).
Suppose 0.6 gigacalories were spent on heating water. In this situation, the amount of heat energy is divided by the number of people. It turns out 0.2 gigacalories for each. At the full rate, only 0.2 gigacalories will be included in the notification, the remaining 0.4 will be calculated at the subsidized rate.
How much will the amount of rent in zhirovki at "parasites" change?
Let's take into account a typical two-room apartment - 48 square meters. Let's consider two situations.
The first is that only a citizen included in the list lives in the apartment. If the consumption of hot water is within the normal range, then the payment for it will increase by 5-6 rubles, heating - by 60 rubles. If the heating of the dwelling is carried out from an individual gas heater - by 40 rubles. That is, as a result, a citizen included in the list will have to pay 45-65 rubles more per month.
The second - three people live in the apartment, and the owner is a citizen included in the list. In this case, the payment for heating can increase by 30 rubles (if the living space is heated from an individual gas heater - by 15-16).
The first commissions on "parasites" appeared in Belarus
The first commissions have already opened in Kamenets and Pruzhany districts, their work was coordinated by local district executive committees. This was reported on the website of the National Legal Internet Portal.
Commission Responsibilities
Commissions will inform people no later than the 10th day of the second month of each quarter that they have been included in the list for any reason. It is also their job to help you find a job.
The commissions will also consider applications from parasites and their relatives for full or partial exemption from paying utility bills at full rates due to difficult life situations. But the reason must be justified in the application. At the same time, the commissions will be able to request information from state bodies and other organizations of any form of ownership on issues related to its activities.
Decision-making
The decision in the commissions will be taken by open vote. It will be considered adopted if more than half of the commission members who were at the meeting voted for it. In case of equality of votes, the decision for which the chairman of the committee meeting voted is considered adopted. By the way, the decision is not subject to appeal.
Who will be on the committee?
The commissions include deputies, doctors, representatives of housing and communal services, trade unions, Belaya Rus and other organizations. At the same time, meetings will be held when necessary, but at least twice a month.
On April 2, 2015, Decree No. 3 “On the Prevention of Social Dependency” was signed. So there was a well-known far beyond the borders of Belarus "Tax on parasitism", "Tax on the unemployed".
And on January 27, 2018, Decree No. 1 “On the Promotion of Employment of the Population”, also signed by the President and actually canceling the “Tax on parasitism”, came into force.
But the basic concepts of the "Tax on the Unemployed" and the definition of "Social Dependency" did not become a thing of the past with the signing of the new Decree, but acquired other forms and gave rise to far-reaching consequences.
Therefore, it makes sense to recall Decree No. 3, and the course of its implementation, and the prerequisites of Decree No. 1, and the current state of affairs.
The signing of Decree No. 3 was preceded by a tense period of waiting, discussion of the validity and legality of such a document, assumptions possible consequences its acceptance. There was a demand from the President not to be afraid to repeat the developments of the Soviet period, to force those who evade socially useful labor, but enjoy the benefits of a socially oriented state, to work. There were statements from the Ministry of Taxes and Duties, the Ministry of the Interior and other officials.
There were serious objections in response:
However, despite objections, the Decree was adopted.
The essence of the Unemployment Tax can be summarized as follows:
Citizens of Belarus not participating in the financing of the budget 183 calendar days, i.е. those who did not pay taxes to the budget became obliged to pay a tax in the amount of 20 .
Decree adopted: "In order to prevent social dependency."
However, unlike in the Soviet era, it was not the unwillingness to work itself that became unacceptable, but the refusal to participate in the financing of government spending. Those. a citizen who pays taxes is still not obliged to work (but he is obliged to declare the source of income, as defined in tax legislation).
To identify persons not participating in the financing of government spending, control was stepped up.
The “parasitism tax” did not become an option for legalizing income, i.e. and after voluntary payment tax authorities have the right and obligation to take actions to identify undeclared income and impose appropriate penalties. This became another reason for avoiding any contact with the tax authorities.
The Decree gave a list of categories of citizens from whom the tax would not be levied:
Citizens who, according to the Decree, were recognized as participating in the financing of public expenditures, were not subject to the tax, namely:
Then the list was corrected and explained, for example, not only those who are engaged in subsidiary farming in rural areas, but also those who lead such farming in cities, with the exception of regional centers, were excluded from the number of “parasites”. No more parasites officially working and full-time students abroad, as well as the spouses of civil servants abroad.
The attitude towards “dependents” remained unchanged. Only the form of collecting money from such citizens has changed; instead of a tax, they are denied subsidies for certain services.
With the signing of Decree No. 1, the situation looks like this:
It would be more correct to consider the current attitude of the authorities towards “social dependents” as some kind of transitional state. Probably, the economic pressure on them will grow, but this will happen through the requirement to pay the state for all social benefits.
However, the entire country is gradually moving away from cross-subsidization and are approaching 100% reimbursement of many services. What will happen to the "parasites" is still unknown.
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