Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 5 July (BelTA) – Reserves for reducing the overall tax burden are available in Belarus. Belarusian Tax and Duties Minister Sergei Nalivaiko made the relevant statement during the online conference hosted by BelTA’s website on 5 July.

“A number of them will be reflected in the new edition of the Tax Code,” said the tax and duties minister. “In particular, decisions have been made to index the earnings, which allow using the simplified taxation scheme, increase the size of the investment deduction from profit tax, decrease property taxes for companies, which are building new facilities. The right of municipal councils of deputies to set multiplying coefficients for real estate tax and land tax is supposed to be revised. All these measures will help companies reduce their tax burden and keep more money for production development, which means they will become more competitive and will grow larger in the future.”

While talking about the reduction of the tax burden, one should remember the social commitments of the state and the current capabilities of the state budget, stressed Sergei Nalivaiko. “As for reserves, there are two ways. First, we can reduce the number of preferences available in the country. Second, we can expand the taxable base, increase the number of taxpayers. We see substantial growth reserves in the legislation adopted last year to emancipate business activity. It is understandable that those are strategic documents, which need to be implemented without distorting their nature. If it is done – we can see from H1 2018 results that their implementation proceeds in the right directions – it will allow considerably expanding the taxable base,” he noted.

The tax and duties minister also commented on the reduction of the overall VAT rate. “It will not be reduced this year. A number of countries, including Russia, have decided to increase the VAT rate. I believe that the lack of such plans in Belarus is a great accomplishment. We have a moratorium on raising tax rates. Let’s stick to it for now. New sources of taxation may appear within the three years. We may be able to revise the idea then. It is a very serious matter because the VAT share in the country’s budget is massive. All the steps in this field must be carefully planned,” stated Sergei Nalivaiko.