Sole Traders Prepare Warning Strike

Sole traders have drawn up a list of demands to the Belarusian authorities, and agreed upon the date of the warning strike.

It was said in the interview to charter97.org website by the leader of sole traders movement from Vitsebsk Iryna Yaskevich.

- We are going to stop work for one day traditionally. We have created five proposals to streamline work of individual entrepreneurs, which are written in such a way that it would be clear for all sole traders in Belarus, why we stop work for one day. At the moment we are agreeing on the date of the token strike with small businessmen from other regions.

- Why have you decided to take such a step?

- Once again a critical situation emerged: even those sole traders, who have met all difficult requirements of the authorities regarding documents for imported goods, are confronted with a necessity to sell out shelf stock. That is so because on January 1 the new demands of Safety and Health Certificates for goods are to come into force, and everything that had been imported beforehand turns into “shelf stock” automatically.

We have also many problems even according to the all requirements to imported goods documents, we have questions about terminals – and especially as far as return of goods paid through a terminal is concerned, as we lose more than 5% of proceeds; about the Social Protection Fund, as we pay monthly payments to it even when we do not work on reasons that do not depend on us (for example, when we are waiting for a terminal to be installed, and payment terminals are imposed by the state).

That is why we have created the list of proposals. It includes 5 items:

- To simplify the list of documents needed to sell imported goods.

- Not to increase the multiplying co-efficient to the single tax and the VAT (more than by 2 and 3 respectively).

- To release individual entrepreneurs from monthly payments to the Fund of Social Protection of Population in case they could not work for reasons beyond control (a seasonal activity, installment of a terminal, equipping of a working place, family or personal reasons).

- To bring down rent in view of the economic crisis in the country and the growth of Euro and dollar exchange rates.

- To discharge from obligatory installment of payment terminals those sole traders, whose monthly takings are less than Br 80 million.

Payments to the state from one sole trader, who rents 6-8 square metres in a shopping mall, already are from Br 3 to 8 million a month. If we multiply to the number of “selling spots” even in one shopping mall of one town, it is going to be a considerable sum. And we do not take something from the state – we just pay. That is why we demand attention to our problems. We feel pressure from larger economic entities, who view us competitors. But I want to say to them: there is a certain social stratum of the population in Belarus, who can afford to buy goods only at our outlets. And the second thing is: as long as our home light industry is in such a terrible state – what else could we “destroy”? Unless it be the military industry of Belarus.