Top 10 most absurd initiatives of Belarusian government

Some of them came into force, others remained on paper.

Radio Svaboda journalists made up list of the most absurd ideas of Belarusian government.

Anti-sponger tax (2013-2015)

Discussion of anti-sponger tax last some years. It was expected to be introduced in 2014, but, apparently, it is introduced only now.

Citizens who are not formally employed for more than half a year will be required to pay a one-time fee of 20 basic units once a year, presumably (Br3 mln 600 thousand). Administrative responsibility will be provided for failure, late or incomplete payment of the fee.

The government is trying to make it so that Belarusians themselves ask to introduce such a Decree, allegedly being furious about someone does not work.

During the meeting on January 13, 2015 it was stated that the draft decree was made up. "Spongers and idlers must work". Those who do not pay taxes must pay for it", the dictator set the task.

Currency transactions fee (2014 - 2015)

At the end of 2014 due to the financial crisis and excessive demand for currency, the government and the National Bank introduced 30 percent fee when buying foreign currency legal and natural persons.

The initiative was both unexpected and senseless. Currency did not appear in foreign exchange offices, and after all they had to conduct devaluation policy. The fee itself was in force only 20 days, decreased twice during that time (first - to 20%, then to 10%). It only muddled real and official exchange rates.

Tax on children's truancy (2014-2015)

In May 2014 Vice Prime-Minister Anatol Tozik proposed to oblige parents to pay for insufficient preschool attendance of children. According to him, it is a common practice when a child is only registered in a nursery school, but does not attend it, and child's "presence" continues to be paid from the budget. "I think that in such cases parents must cover expenses, and then we can save a place for them in pre-school institutions", Tozik stated.

Then he added that nursery schools for 6-7 year old children must be provided only against payment.

It has not been introduced yet. However, this issue remains open.

Car exaction (2013-2014)

The State fee for the authorization to road traffic which must be paid by all vehicle owners is relevant in Belarus since 2014. Its introduction in late 2013 caused resentment in society and even provoked Stop-tax protests. New tax was immediately called "car exaction".

The government promised that funds generated from the fee would be used for "repair, reconstruction and construction of national and local roads and streets". However, from the very beginning, even the House of Representatives expressed suspicions that those funds would be spent on patching up budget holes. However, experts were sure about its real purpose.

Since January 1, 2015 the tax has been increased.

Partial fee-for-service medicine (2012-2014)

For years Belarusian government has wanted to make money on diseases.

In late 2012 Anatol Tozik proposed to pay Br5 thousand for a doctor's appointment claiming 30-40% of them were groundless.

In early 2013, the Government decided to make citizens pay for treatment if anyone got into a medical institution under the influence of alcohol. Lukashenka liked this idea: "In our case health costs nothing... You can get drunk, break a leg, and then the State will treat you at the expense of other people".

However, the final version of a new law "On Healthcare" did not include it. Meanwhile, innovative proposals to create a fee-for-service medicine continued to come up. In May 2014 Tozik announced a series of initiatives. In particular, he proposed to introduce a fee for doctor's appointment for more than 8 times a year, although he did not specify the amount of such a fee. Besides, it was asked to introduce a full or partial payment for groundless calling ambulance or a doctor. None of these initiatives has been implemented.

Fee to travel abroad (2013)

In September 2013 Lukashenka shocked everybody with his new initiative: introduce a fee to travel abroad. The proposal was triggered by the Governor's dissatisfaction that Belarusians actively went shopping abroad, and spent there about $3 billion a year.

"I've entrusted to pay fee to travel abroad and it does not comply with the purpose of travel. It will be as follows: We serve you at the border then pay $100 apiece and go abroad," Lukashenka said.

However, this initiative has not been introduced. After some time, Lukashenka told journalists that he did not want to ban Belarusians go abroad, but just thought of how to reduce currency export. And $100 fee is only one possible solution. "It seems like I stuck my foot in my mouth", Lukashenka recalled his proposal.

"Serfs" decrees (2012-2014)

Within two years, Aliaksandr Lukashenka twice shocked public with his scandalous decree to strengthen the labour discipline.

First, in December 2012, he signed a Decree № 9, under which employees of woodworking industry were transferred to the contract form of employment, and the contract termination was allowed only with the consent from an employer. The society immediately called the Decree serfdom.

However, the dictator was not confused by people's glory, and in the end of 2014, he issued a Decree No. 5, expanding rights and increasing responsibility of Heads of enterprises. Lukashenka himself called that Decree "serfdom".

In particular, the Executive Heads of the organizations were given the right to change employee's working conditions, warning him not less than 7 calendar days (currently 30 days), as well as to deprive employees, who violated discipline, of awards for up to 12 months. The Decree also gave additional grounds for dismissal, strengthened employer's responsibility for material damage and expanded rights for its collection extrajudicially.

Representatives of independent trade unions have repeatedly stated that both these decrees make Belarusian workers even more powerless and are contrary the obligations of Belarus within the framework of the International Labour Organization.

Ban on "action and inaction" (2011)

Silent protest in summer of 2011, which had a great response both in Belarus and abroad, forced the government to specify the direction of greater rigidity of the law on mass events.

The government found the way out quickly enough: at the end of July 2011 there appeared a draft amendment to the law "On mass events". In addition to various new restrictions, it stated that joint "presence of citizens in a predetermined public place (including outdoor) and at a specified time to perform a predetermined action or inaction was equated with picketing". A ban on "inaction" riveted the public's attention and led to many jokes and anecdotes.

The amendments to the law were adopted on October 3, 2011 in the first and second reading, without journalists. An absurd definition of "action or inaction" was not introduced to the final version of the law and was replaced by "unauthorized action", but the sense did not change. People called it "more than three not to meet" law.

Tax on Skype and Viber (2015)

In February 2015, the Ministry of Communications and Informatization of Belarus announced that the operators of IM systems (Skype, Viber and others) should charge an amount out of their profit to the Belarusian side.

Siarhei Papkou, the Minister of Communications and Informatization of Belarus, outraged that Skype and other operators "do not invest a penny in technology within the country," but their work led to 10-15% decrease in fixed-line and cellular telephone communication.

"We will work with the government to make these operators to share their income. Therefore, it should be fair”, he said.

Tax on loans (2015)

Since January 1, 2015, respectively, with amendments to Article 178 of the Tax Code all recipients of loans from natural persons must pay a tax of 13% of the amount received, if they do not have time to redeem debt at the time of filling an income-tax return.

The exception is only possible if money was borrowed from a close relative, a trustee or a ward.

The new rule replaces the milder one, which included payments to the budget only with overdue loans obtained from foreign citizens and organizations. Now the tax will be paid from any amount of the loan that the borrower has at the time of filling an income-tax return. That is, if a person borrowed from a friend, an acquaintance or distant relative, he must pay tax.