The Authorities Are Far From the Life of an Ordinary Belarusian Family

Main suprises are prepared for the New Year.

Belarus has sharply increased the tax rates on real estate and land for individuals in 2020.

This rate varies in different parts of the country and its final factor is determined by the local authorities. In general, the real estate tax for people in Belarus will increase by 1.5 - 2 times. The toughest tax rate increase (doubled) will occur in Brest, Asipovichy, Slavgorod, Chausy and Berestavitsy districts.

The tax itself is not big, and given this increase, it will amount to about Br100 per year. However, it happens against the backdrop of a regular growth of gasoline prices, the rising cost of travel on public transport, living standards decline and the outflow of the able-bodied population abroad.

Why did the authorities need to drastically raise property tax rates? An activist of the European Belarus civil campaign, Aksana Yushkevich, answers the questions of Charter97.org.

- The real estate tax will be doubled for ordinary citizens. How would you comment on this? Why did the authorities decide to increase the tax?

- At the moment, the treasury is almost empty, there's a huge hole in it. The budget for 2020 has been adopted with a deficit, while the Social Security Fund (SSF) has a deficit of about a billion dollars, public debt and payments are growing rapidly, and the debts of enterprises have exceeded the GDP of the country.

I don't think that raising taxes on real estate and land for individuals will be enough. Something will be introduced for legal entities, too. Or they have already come up with something, and after the New Year, they will announce it.

Secondly, officials make such decisions based on their wages, not the income of the people, who receive $100-150 per month in their masses outside Minsk.

And now let's take a look at the year 2020: the real estate tax has been raised, the utility payments will soon be full. The electricity for people will cost 8 times as much if the BelNPP is put into operation...

It looks like the madness of the authorities, who do not know how an ordinary person lives. They don't realise what is going on in rural areas (people pay more for electricity than we do in Minsk). They do not understand that an ordinary Belarusian family can afford less. More and more people escape from this "paradise" abroad, because they can't earn a decent living at home. How insane one should be to drive the population into such a gap!

By every January 1, a strange surprise awaits the Belarusians to replenish the empty treasury. Note that the dollar rate is constantly growing. I guess it will cost more after the New Year.

Since we have many things based on the currency balance, the currency crisis may break out as it was in 2011. The new version of the law "On Currency Regulation and Currency Control" is in the process, which means restrictions on the purchase and sale of currency. Naturally, the state tries to avoid the situation of 2011.

Regarding this new real estate tax. You see, when people have money, they want to own something. Real estate is a guarantee of your future. Many people live off real estate, rent it out for a day or a month. And if a person earns money, the state wants him to share with it.

- For three months you have been contacting people during the political campaign related to "elections". What is the reaction of Belarusians on the introduction of new fees and the permanent growth of prices for gasoline, utilities, public transport, food products?

- One just needs to see how much people are upset.

The fact that they have to survive is an understatement. People spend the last money to cover taxes, utility bills.

Many people are still indignant that if no one is registered in an apartment, the utility bill is twice as high. Now imagine if people have to pay in full after the New Year. How much will people pay for those apartments where no one is registered? This is crazy.

It seems that all this is done simply to launder money and the authorities are erecting a financial pyramid.

Talking to people, one realises how much they hate this system. If they had been given the person called the "president of the country" they would have probably torn him to pieces. People see how their neighbours live in Europe and understand that they could live several times better than they do now, and what huge opportunities have been missed because of this power.

We locate in the heart of Europe. Our neighbours are quite developed countries with good medicine, education, social guarantees. In our country, a person is deprived of the latter. They will throw you into a dumpster, and even there you will still have to pay a tax. This is nonsense. People say that nothing has hanged since the 1980s and 1990s.

- Will these Drazdy luxury houses and numerous residences of Lukashenka be subject to this doubled tax?

- I think that nobody will ever know it. It will remain under the KGB secrecy stamp.

However, if the tax for Drazdy increases, it will not increase much. On the other hand, let's take their salaries, which are at least 10 times higher than the salaries of our citizens. It will be a trifle for them. They will not even mention it.

As for Lukashenka's residences, their maintenance and payment of taxes will be covered by the state budget and our taxes. That is, this increase will in no way affect Drazdy, residences and another similar real estate.

- What is fair?

- In developed countries, there is a tax on luxury and super income. Owners of elite real estate are subject to it. Why does Belarus take measures to classify the real estate of owners of mansions in Drazdy?

We are lagging behind the civilized world in these matters, while our neighbours and the whole of Europe keep pace with the time. And this system will be changed as soon as political changes occur in Belarus.

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