IMF Again Denied Lukashenka Credit

The International Monetary Fund urged the Belarusian authorities to abolish the tax on "parasites".

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommends Belarus to abolish the so-called "tax on parasites". This is stated in the report of the IMF mission, promulgated on Thursday, November 9, following the results of its work in Belarus, DW reports.

In addition, the IMF suggested that the Belarusian authorities should abolish the target amount for the monthly salary, which should be reached by the end of 2017. Instead, it was recommended "to allow enterprises to set their salaries depending on labor productivity."

Negotiations on the credit program are suspended

Head of the IMF mission Peter Dolman also reported on the suspension of negotiations on a new credit program for Belarus. The reason he called was contradictions related to the pace of implementation of reforms, in particular in the sector of SOEs.

Dolman also mentioned the issue of increasing the resources allocated to the social protection system. "It is important that the official bodies of Belarus give a hint about what they want from relations with the IMF," – BelTA quotes him.

What is the decree "on parasites"

Belarusian ruler's Decree No. 3 "On Prevention Of Social Dependency", nicknamed as the decree "on parasitism," came into action in the autumn of 2016, when tax inspectors began sending out letters to citizens who worked less than 183 days a year with a demand to pay the established fee. At the end of February 2017, when the established term of payment was over, mass protests against the decree took place in all major cities of the country and its operation was suspended.