Over 200 sole entrepreneurs stage protest in Barysaw

More than 200 market vendors holding sole entrepreneur status staged a protest on the central square of Barysaw, the Minsk region’s second largest city, on January 10, demanding the abolition of the requirement that sole entrepreneurs should not employ workers other than three family members.

Under new regulations, if they want to have more employees, they have to re-register their businesses into “private unitary enterprises,” which would automatically double the amount of taxes they have to pay.

The gathering reportedly adopted a resolution addressed to the Presidential Administration, which demanded declaring a moratorium on the employee restriction, enacting a friendly small and medium-sized enterprises law as soon as possible, and putting an end to the persecution and harassment of small business activists.

Viktar Harbachow, leader of a small business movement called “For the Free Development of Enterprise who is a resident of Barysaw, had been blocked by police in his apartment since morning. According to him, he had his mobile telephone cut off and there were KGB officers and policemen watching on the other side of the door and outside the building.