Kharkavets: Much demagogy over car duty

The Belarusian minister of finance, Andrei Kharkavets, asks to take the new initiative easy.

He thinks there's “much demagogy” in public discussions over a state duty for letting cars using roads in 2014, Interfax news agency reports.

“We should take the transport duty easy. I think there's too much demagogy in discussions,” Andrei Kharkavets told journalists in Minsk.

He noted fuel prices in Belarus were lower than in Russian and Ukraine. “If we added this duty to fuel prices, fuel would cost as in Russia and Ukraine, or even higher. All people living near the border would buy fuel in Russia, and transit via our country would stop,” Kharkavets said.

He said the Ministry of Finance counted the car duty would bring 1.6 trillion Belarusian rubles in 2014. The official reminded the road duty, which was included in fuel price, had been lifted in 2007. “The road duty could give 6 billion rubles to the state budget today,” Kharkavets said.

The minister of finance turns attention to the fact that the size of the state duty, which will be imposed in Belarus in 2014, can be compared with similar duties in Russia and Ukraine, and certain positions are even lower. The Ministry of Finance is ready to defend its position and provide information about the rates of the state duty and similar payments in neighbouring states.

Asked whether he knew about the online petition against the duty that authors plan to hand in to the minister of finance, Kharkavets said the petition should be “sent to the right address”.

“The petition should be sent to the right address. I introduce the draft law, which was proposed by the president, to the parliament. It is a consolidated position of the government,” the minister of finance said.

About 63,000 people signed the petition as of 8:00 on Tuesday.