Newspaper of Council of Ministers: People are not so poor, we need property tax

The newspaper Respublika proposes to introduce an additional tax on property.

“At a closer look, our people are not so poor. They own about 200 million square metres of property, which is 100 billion dollars by the most conservative estimate, excluding garages, summer houses, private houses and land plots. The cost of the 'consolidated private household' is higher than that of the whole industry. People can earn money but they do not pay taxes on property. If you have a flat or a summer house from your grandparents, you can do nothing and rent them out. The savviest people take a mortgage loan from a bank and then rent the property out or sell it. You cannot make them work at a plant or get involved in real business,” propagandists from the Council of Ministers' newspaper Respublika write.

Even old people won't get a tax exemption.

“We can hear angry questions about the social aspect. For example, how will old people pay the tax? But many old people have flats in property. Taking into account their market value, it is hard to call these people very poor. Most old people have younger beneficiaries. So let them take care of their future property.

Welfare states use another mechanism, namely an inheritance tax, which can reach 70% in Germany, 60% in Sweden and 50% in Japan... There are significant 'discounts' for close relatives, but this approach encourages the young generation not to rest on the laurels of their ancestors' savings but to do something themselves. The fiscal burden just does not allow rented out property to be the only income for people of working age.

It's time for experts in Belarus to analyse this problem in order not to make the middle-aged generation lose the initiative. After all, we pay the tax on roads. The logic is clear: if you want to use a car, contribute to road construction. If you want to live in a house, contribute to infrastructure construction. Of course, the fairness of any tax can be discussed.

We can also speak about the reasonability. Will the real sector be able to cope with all state's expenses in 5, 10 or 20 years, when the number of Belarusians of working age will reduce? By the way, taxes on using and owning property decrease the profitability of illegal incomes. It will not be so profitable to buy penthouses in the name of your old parents, declare your small income at the tax office and build a three-floor house. Anyway, people won't be able to fully evade making contributions to the state budget,” the article reads.