Taxes imposed on Internet shops

Belarusian authorities have obliged on-line vendors to pay maximal single tax.

By its decision number 286 according to the decree 143 Misk city council of deputies approved the size of the single tax rate for individual entrepreneurs and physical persons. According to this decision, owners of e-shops in the capital are to pay a maximal rate of the single tax, Electroname.com informs with a reference to BelTA.

As representatives of Minsk department of control over individual entrepreneurs and physical persons of the Taxes and Duties Ministry said, online shopping becomes more and more popular as a form of the retail trade.

"Its scale is not smaller than at shops. Earnings of individual entrepreneurs from through the web is 1.5-3 times higher than earnings of individul entrepreneurs from retail sale in traditional shops," the ministry noted.

At the same time, as the minitry informed, the single tax is paid from each shop or a trading place at a market area, and in the trade through online shops one single tax rate is paid no matter how many internet shops the owner has.

According to the decision, for instance, a maximal rate of the single tax in online retail trade is to become 1.23 mln Br a month, leather clothes - 920,000 Br a month, bakery and dairy products - 200,000 Br a month.

The ministry underlined that when drafting the decision Minsk city council used as a basis rates of the single tax approved by the previous decision of the city council (number 219). "When we changed it we used Euro exchange rate as of January 1, 2010 (4,119 Br), as the decree number 143 came in force since that time," the ministry reminded.

The decision of Minsk city council has come in force on April 4 this year.