Belarus has updated the decree on "social dependency" by adopting a new decree on "assisting citizens in employment", "stimulating employment" and carrying out preventive work with "antisocial elements." The new decree gives the right to local commissions without trial and at their discretion to send "asocial" citizens to medical and labor dispensaries (LTP) for up to a year.

Decree No. 1 "On Promoting Employment of the Population", which President Alexander Lukashenko signed on January 25, 2018, turned out to be not new, but already known, but "set out in a new edition" by Decree No. 3 of April 2, 2015 "On the prevention of social dependency."

And since the role of people close to the population and responsible for the implementation of the decree was assigned to the local authorities in decree No. 1, the pro-government candidates in the local elections on February 18 received a topic for communication with the electorate about how they would employ respectable citizens and force them to fulfill their public duty. less respectable.

The official TV channel ATN has already called the decree "the matrix of a new social contract between the state and citizens."

Belarus, perhaps without realizing it, has recognized that the state is exploiting the population. After all, the concept of a social contract implies an agreement reached by citizens on the rules and principles of public administration with the corresponding legal form. In this case, the new decree shows that the state is actually a god and a king.

There is also some good news: the taxes and levies have been promised by the Ministry of Taxes and Levies to return the fees for financing government spending, which have already been paid by citizens by decree No. 3. True, the terms of the return are not indicated, and the mechanism is unclear. It is only known that those who wish will need to write a statement of return.

But the decree does not yet contain the main thing: the definition of who, in fact, is “unemployed in the economy”, as well as “the procedure for classifying able-bodied citizens” to this category of persons. Both must be determined by the Council of Ministers, moreover, by April 1, 2018, which brings an additional semantic connotation. In addition, in decree no. 1, “resocialization of persons leading an asocial lifestyle” appeared - a new concept that was not in the old edition of decree no. 3. Resocialization is supposed to be carried out in medical and labor dispensaries (LTP).

The decision on who leads a lifestyle that is antisocial enough to be re-socialized will be made by officials who are members of the “employment commissions”. Decree No. 1 legalizes the activities of these commissions, already existing in fact, and expands their powers, allowing them to make decisions on placing “asocial” persons in the LTP. Moreover, due to the lack of a legal framework, such decisions will be made at the sole discretion of officials. Currently, in addition to looking for a job for those who wish to find it, the commissions draw up lists of persons who, for whatever reason, do not want to find a job officially - potential candidates for "resocialization".

With this approach, it will be very easy to recognize a civil activist who is inconvenient for the authorities as a person leading an asocial lifestyle, and send him without trial to the LTP. Thus, the Belarusian authorities have created a mechanism for extrajudicial imprisonment, and with a safety net in the event of a scandal, since the responsibility can easily be blamed on local officials.

“Previously, only the court sent to the LTP, and only those suffering from chronic alcoholism, drug addiction or substance abuse. And also those who did not reimburse the expenses for the maintenance of children by the state, if they were brought to administrative responsibility several times a year. Now what? If you literally understand the decree, then the executive committee will be able to send any parasite to the LTP for up to 12 months ... Without warning and bringing to administrative responsibility, "- explained the situation lawyer Alexander Zhuk on his Facebook page.

As for the general logic of both versions of the decree, it is based on the assertion that "parasites" do not pay taxes. But 52% of the revenue side of the budget of Belarus for 2018 is 20% value added tax, which is levied on purchases of citizens and legal entities. Whether a citizen works or not, he becomes a taxpayer when he comes to shop for purchases.

Instead of the annual "levy to finance government spending", popularly nicknamed "tax on parasitism", the decree introduced "payment of state-subsidized services at their full cost." This will affect from January 1, 2019, all able-bodied citizens who do not work officially, that is, who do not pay income taxes. Neither the services payable, nor their full cost, are also determined by the decree. The Council of Ministers of Belarus should also understand this issue, and also by April 1, 2018. Definitely, no one in Belarus has ever gotten a chance for such a bright April Fools' joke.

Context

Unadorned police state

Belarusian news 03/27/2017

Parasites opposed Lukashenka

Latvijas Avize 13.04.2017

Law against parasites in Belarus

Open Democracy 07/01/2015

Belarus is not a state for the people

Comrade online 11/25/2014 And although the chairman of the standing committee of the House of Representatives on labor and social issues Tamara Krasovskaya clarified that housing and communal services will be offered for payment at full cost, this did not make it completely clear. The fact is that from January 1 of this year, all payers will be required to pay 100% of the cost of housing and communal services, except for thermal energy. Will the Council of Ministers restrict itself to levying the full cost of heating and hot water from the "parasites", or will it introduce payments for other public services, the free of charge of which is today guaranteed by the constitution? For example, in article 45 of the constitution, citizens of Belarus are guaranteed the right to free treatment in state institutions, without reservations about employment. “I wonder if the call to the police, firemen, and ambulance will also be paid?” - asked the question of video blogger Marat Minsky.

In general, the entire decree No. 1, according to experts, is extremely vague. “There is not a single norm of direct action here. And how he will actually act is completely incomprehensible. I have not yet seen an unspecified normative legal act to such an extent, ”said Sergei Balykin, chairman of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises. And Valery Karbalevich, a political scientist and expert of the analytical center "Strategy", believes that "mines are laid in the new decree", which will lead to serious consequences in the implementation of the law. Both analysts believe that the authorities lacked the political will to recognize the previous decree # 3 as unsuccessful, and the new # 1 was developed solely to save face.

Let us recall that Decree No. 3 appeared against the backdrop of the economic crisis, when the authorities were thinking how to replenish the budget, and citizens - how to survive in the face of massive reductions and an increase in the retirement age. As a result, when in December 2016 the "parasites" began to receive notifications from the tax authorities, many were unable to pay the required amount. Although non-payers were threatened with fines and arrest for up to 15 days with involvement in public works, out of 470 thousand people who received notifications, only 44.5 thousand paid "parasite" tax - less than 10% of the total number of those who fell under the law. Instead of the planned $ 100 million, this brought about $ 7.14 million to the budget - a more than modest amount on a national scale.

It also turned out that the accounting system that identifies "parasites" is working poorly, as well as the state employment system. That there is simply no work in small towns. Finally, Decree No. 3 did not provide for many situations, which is why sick, caring relatives, demobilized soldiers and university graduates were recorded as "parasites". The mechanism for applying the decree had to be adjusted on the fly, changing and adopting 109 normative acts in 34 months of its validity, and still it worked ineffectively. At the same time, public discontent was growing. The wording "social dependency" was taken by many as an insult. People were outraged by the fact that the state was taking away the last money from the unemployed, instead of helping them. The hunt for "parasites" in a number of cases led to the suicide of the unemployed, and street protests reached a scale that Belarus had not known since the mid-90s.

In the end, the authorities backed down. However, having suspended the decree # 3, Lukashenka said that it would not be canceled, but “significantly improved”. The revised version in the form No. 1 was presented at the end of January.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign mass media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial board.

It became known that the President of Belarus 25 january 2018 signed Decree No. 1"On the promotion of employment", which completely changes the previously existing act of legislation.

So, the new decree is actually cancels previously effective Presidential Decree No. 3.

The main change is that in accordance with the new Decree will not be charged from able-bodied non-working citizens a levy to finance public expenditures.

Persons who were previously recognized as payers of this fee are exempted from paying it.

However, since 1 january 2019 years, persons previously recognized as "parasites" will pay for government-subsidized services for their 100% cost.

Attention!

According to the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 314 dated April 24, 2018 able-bodied citizens, not employed in the economy, pay the cost of utilities that correspond full refund costs of the state for the provision of such services, namely:

hot water supply
heat supply
gas supply (in the presence of individual gas heating devices)

It is also indicated that commissions will be created that will provide the most individual approach to each citizen.

The commissions will be designed to assist in the employment of unemployed citizens.

The work of specially created commissions will be aimed at:

job creation
employment assistance
presentation of temporary work
retraining

In fact, the part of the article that goes below this is leveled out due to the unexpected signing by the President of Decree No. 1.

Decree No. 3

In January 2017, the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of 12.01.2017 "On Amendments to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 3" was issued. It finalized the Presidential Decree No. 3 "On the prevention of social dependency". The head of state explained that he will not collect the 2016 tax from those who have to pay, and those who paid will not pay for 2017, provided they are employed at work. This decree will not be canceled, but it will be worked out in connection with numerous complaints from citizens.

Who needs to pay the fee?

You need to pay those who have not worked for more than a year 183 days... Only those who are included in the list of persons, which was recently supplemented by a new decree, do not pay:

athletes of the national teams of Belarus
first-time full-time students
Individual entrepreneurs who have paid taxes for more than 20 base units established as of January 1 of the relevant tax period
seriously ill
people of creative professions who have confirmed membership in the creative union
representatives of church organizations
officially registered unemployed
one of the parents raising a child between the ages of 3 and 7 who is not receiving preschool education
military personnel
and others (see full list)

Thus, the state fights against those who do not work at all or work “unofficially”.

If you worked less than 183 days a year?

In case you worked less than 183 days a year, but paid taxes for 20 and more base values (the base value is calculated at the time of January 1 of the year for which you pay the fee), then you do not fall under Decree No. 3. However, if less than 20 basic taxes were paid for the year, then you pay only the difference between the 20 basic amounts and the actual amount paid by you.

Excessively paid (collected) fees are subject to refund or offset in accordance with the procedure established by tax legislation.

I work, but I still receive a notification of the payment of the fee

As we remember, in 2015, many people received a tax notification. Do not be alarmed, this is a mistake of the tax authority. In this case, if you actually worked, then it is enough to take a certificate from the place of work, which certifies the fact of your employment in this organization (company). Next, go to the tax authority that sent you a notification and it will be canceled for you.

No tax money

In accordance with Presidential Decree No. 3, Local Councils of Deputies or local executive and administrative bodies have the right to exempt from payment of a fee due to being in a difficult life situation. This situation is understood as an objective circumstance or their combination, which does not depend on the citizen, and he cannot overcome it at the expense of the available means (for example, the death of a spouse, inability to self-service).
Important!

Failure to pay tax or evasion of non-payment faces a fine, arrest, and also sending to forced labor.

Has the law affected unemployment?

In general, the number of unemployed in 2017 decreased compared to 2016. Unemployment was 0.6%, and in 2016 - 0.8%. Also, the demand for labor has increased, citizens began to more often apply to the bodies for labor, employment and social protection of the population. The number of unemployed people by gender is in the lead. Every year statistics goes towards decreasing unemployment.

Do you want to find a job? See vacancies in Minsk by the link:

The government has determined who will be subject to the updated parasitism document - and what services they will pay for the full rate. The corresponding decision is enshrined in the government decree of March 31, 2018 No. 239.

Thus, those who are not employed in the economy pay for housing and communal services at the full rate. In addition, commissions will be created in the regions that will make decisions on those who fell under the decree on promoting employment.

The picture is for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Alexander Chuguev, TUT.BY

Who will be considered employed in the economy?

Those who are engaged in the economy will include:

working under an employment agreement (contract);
Individual entrepreneurs, lawyers, notaries, artisans, as well as those involved in agritourism;
performing work under civil law contracts;
those who pay a single tax;
military personnel, employees of a paramilitary organization with special ranks, liable for military service during military or special training, as well as performing alternative service;
creative workers whose status is confirmed by a creative union or a professional certificate of a creative worker;
clergymen, participants (members) of the monastery, monastic community, as well as students of theological educational institutions;
members of national and national teams in sports;
unemployed who are registered at employment centers or undergo retraining from employment centers.

Those who are raising children under 7, a disabled child under 18, three or more minor children are also among those employed in the economy.

Full-time education students, and those receiving education at home will also be considered employed in the economy. The exception is those who take training courses (lectures, thematic seminars, workshops, trainings, officer courses) and educational programs to improve the capabilities and abilities of the individual.

Those employed in the economy are also considered to be who is engaged in the production of crop products(with the exception of floriculture products, ornamental plants, their seeds and seedlings), animal husbandry(with the exception of the cities of Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev) on a land plot provided for running a personal subsidiary farm, running a peasant (farm) economy, building and maintaining a residential building, including the construction and (or) maintenance of a one-apartment , a blocked residential building, servicing by a registered organization for state registration of an apartment in a blocked residential building.

Athletes-learners specialized educational and sports institutions, children's and youth sports schools (specialized children's and youth schools of the Olympic reserve), included in the structure of clubs by type (s) of sports in the form
separate structural units are also referred to as employed in the economy.

Who was excluded from the unemployed list?

At the same time, citizens whose employment is difficult or impossible for objective reasons are excluded from the number of able-bodied citizens not employed in the economy. So, able-bodied citizens not employed in the economy will not include:

Belarusians with whom terminated labor relations, - during the quarter following the quarter in which the dismissal took place. In this case, in the event of termination of an employment agreement (contract) due to a reduction in the number or staff of employees, the employee's inadequacy for the position or work performed due to a health condition that prevents the continuation of this work, the expiration of the contract - within 6 months from the date of dismissal.
military personnel, employees (workers) of a paramilitary organization who had special ranks of reservists during classes and training camps, as well as doing alternative service within 6 months starting from the month in which the specified relationship was terminated;
full-time graduates, as well as education at home, with the exception of additional education - until the end of the calendar year in which the diploma was received.
students of theological educational institutions- before the end of the calendar year in which the educational relationship was terminated;
recognized disabled(regardless of the group, reason, date of onset and duration of disability), as well as recognized by a court decision incapacitated; undergoing compulsory treatment.
renting out residential and non-residential premises, parking spaces upon payment of personal income tax;
performing during the full season seasonal work;
under medical supervision during pregnancy and childbirth;
outgoing sentencing and located in medical and labor dispensaries;
spouse (s) of a soldier, doing military service under contract, military service of conscript officers, as well as young specialist who has started work on distribution (redistribution) or direction (subsequent direction) to work - for the period of their cohabitation in an area where there is no opportunity to find a job;
Olympic champions who receive state scholarships.

In addition, those who are not employed in the economy will not be classified as receives a disability or survivor's pension due to an accident at work or occupational disease, receiving monthly
insurance payments against industrial accidents and professional
diseases.

Those, who receives pensions, including from other states, benefits from the Federal Social Welfare Fund(except for one-off), as well as temporary disability benefits are also not subject to the decree. As well as those to whom "the security measures provided for by legislative acts were applied, which did not allow them to engage in various types of activities."

The document does not apply for 6 months also to citizens of Belarus who arrived in our country for permanent residence, as well as to foreigners or stateless persons who have received a permanent residence permit in Belarus and are registered at the place of residence. They have "immunity" for six months, starting from the month in which they were registered in our country.

They do not fall under the decree, but you will have to apply to the commission on parasites

It is interesting that those who were dismissed or resigned, who, by order of the Council of Ministers, during the quarter following the quarter in which they were left without work, are not subject to the decree. At the same time, in order not to pay for housing and communal services at economically justified rates, they need to contact the commission that works with parasites and provide the relevant documents. That is, they are not automatically exempted from payment for the full tariffs of the "communal", but upon application.

The same rule applies to those laid off due to a reduction in the number or staff of workers, as well as the wives and husbands of military personnel and young professionals working abroad. Moreover, those who were under medical supervision during pregnancy and childbirth should also apply to the commission on parasites in order not to pay at economically justified tariffs for housing and communal services.

Which of the departments and for what will be responsible?

The Ministry of Taxes and Levies was instructed to ensure the transfer to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of property rights to software related to the collection and transmission of information from government bodies and other organizations on the participation of citizens in financing public expenditures.

The owner of the database of able-bodied citizens not employed in the economy is the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, and the operator of the database, which ensures the creation and maintenance of the database during its formation and maintenance, is the State Institution Center for Information Technologies of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus.

The formation and maintenance of data is carried out by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection in order to generate information about able-bodied citizens not employed in the economy, as well as to keep records of able-bodied citizens not employed in the economy.

The database includes the following mandatory information about the citizen: identification number; surname, first name, patronymic (if any) in Russian; Date of Birth; floor; citizenship; data on registration at the place of residence (place of stay); type, series and number of the identity document.

The Ministry of Communications and Informatization was instructed to provide funding for measures to create and automate the process of forming a database as part of the implementation of event 12 of subprogram 2 of the State Program for the Development of the Digital Economy and Information Society for 2016 - 2020, approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus dated March 23, 2016 No. 235.

State bodies, other organizations presenting lists of identification numbers of citizens for the formation of a database, were instructed, together with the RUE "National Center for Electronic Services", to ensure: holding, by June 1, 2018, organizational and technical measures for integration into the national automated information system of state information systems and resources that take into account certain categories of citizens in order to automate the process of forming a database in electronic form; transfer not later than September 1, 2018 and further within the established time frame of information for the formation of the database.

The Ministry of Labor, together with NCEU, until November 30, 2018, must provide local executive and regulatory bodies with access to the database through the national automated information system.

By November 30, 2018, local executive and administrative bodies were instructed to carry out the necessary organizational and technical measures to gain access to the database through the national automated information system.

The main points of the adopted resolution come into force after the official publication of the document.

Let us remind you that on January 25 Alexander Lukashenko decree No. 1, which provides for measures to promote employment of the population. The new decree did not include norms on the collection of a fee from able-bodied non-working citizens to finance public spending. At the same time, persons who were previously recognized as payers of this fee are exempted from paying it.

However, the document did not specify which of the Belarusians would be subject to the document, as well as a list of services for the consumption of which those who fell under the decree would pay at an economically justified tariff. This was instructed to determine the government by April 1.

It was predicted that the Belarusians, who are under decree No. 1, will pay for housing and communal services at an economically justified tariff. At the same time, there is no question of reimbursing the costs of medical care, it turned out to be Novopolotsk, and from the districts - Loevsky.

In the Ministry of Labor, talking about Decree No. 1, that the government will annually identify areas with a tense situation on the labor market. Additional funds from the state budget will be allocated to the program for employment of the population in such regions.

According to forecasts of the Ministry of Labor, under decree No. 1 there are about 250 thousand Belarusians.

The actual unemployment rate in Belarus over the past 4 years by 0.5 percentage points: from 5.1% in 2014 to 5.6%. In Belarus last year there were 293.4 thousand unemployed, classified in accordance with the criteria of the International Labor Organization. This is 8.4 thousand people less than in 2016.

At the same time, the number of Belarusians who go to work abroad has noticeably increased. If in 2014 62.2 thousand people worked outside the country, then in the past - 83 thousand (of which 83.9% worked in Russia). For comparison: in 2015 there were 39.4 thousand working abroad, and in 2016 - 59.5 thousand.

Which provides for measures to promote employment of the population. The document is aimed primarily at stepping up the work of the authorities to maximize assistance to citizens in employment, stimulate employment and self-employment of the population. This was reported by the presidential press service.

To this end, the Decree entrusts the Government with the tasks of setting forecast indicators in the field of promoting employment and a list of areas with a tense situation in the labor market, monitoring, assessing the quality and availability of services in promoting employment.

In turn, local authorities will provide individual work with citizens at the local level when carrying out work on their employment and re-socialization of persons leading an asocial lifestyle. In addition, the regional, Minsk City Councils of Deputies will be able to additionally allocate funds from local budgets for the implementation of measures to promote employment in areas with a tense situation on the labor market.

The new Decree did not include norms on the collection of a fee from able-bodied non-working citizens to finance public expenditures. At the same time, persons who were previously recognized as payers of this fee are exempted from paying it.

The decree provides for a conceptually different approach aimed at encouraging able-bodied non-working citizens to legal employment. It is stipulated that from January 1, 2019, such persons will pay for state-subsidized services at their full cost. The Government has been instructed to determine a specific list of such services.

The key role in organizing work on the implementation of the norms of the Decree is assigned to local authorities. For this, it is envisaged to create by local executive and administrative bodies of permanent commissions, the main tasks of which are to assist citizens in finding a job.

The commissions will include deputies of all levels, specialists from local authorities, as well as representatives of public associations. The commissions created at the district level will be headed, as a rule, by the chairmen of the Councils of Deputies.

The decree gives the commissions broad powers, including the decision-making on the release for a certain time of able-bodied citizens who are not employed in the economy from the obligation to pay for services at full cost if they have a difficult life situation.

To implement the Decree, the Government will adopt a number of resolutions, which, among other things, will determine the procedure for classifying able-bodied citizens as not employed in the economy, the list of services provided to these citizens at full cost, the procedure for calculating fees for these services and other issues.

In addition, it is envisaged that the Government will take measures aimed at intensifying preventive work with able-bodied non-working citizens who lead an asocial lifestyle; activities of tax authorities to identify and tax hidden income of individuals.

The decree comes into force after its official publication.

Over the weekend, the largest protests in recent years were held in Belarus, which the authorities did not disperse. The reason was the "decree on parasites", the economic benefits of which are not obvious, economists say

(Photo: Sergey Goodilin for RBC)

On Monday, February 20, the deadline for payment of the levy for financing government spending for 2015 expires in Belarus. This tax is called in the Belarusian mass media “tax on parasitism”. It was established by decree No. 3 "On the prevention of social dependency", signed by President Alexander Lukashenko on April 2, 2015. The main purpose of the decree is to stimulate the able-bodied population to work and prevent social dependency, BelTA agency reminds.

Rallies against the decree

The tax office began sending out notices about the need to pay the fee in January 2017. This must be done by someone who worked less than 183 calendar days in 2015. A total of 470 thousand notifications were sent, BelTA said. Dissatisfaction with the decree brought hundreds of citizens of the republic out onto the streets, Belarusian opposition media reported.

The first meeting against the "decree on parasitism" was held in Minsk on February 17, and up to 3 thousand people took part in it. This was the first mass rally since December 2010, when a rally was held in the Belarusian capital against the results of the presidential elections, which were won by Alexander Lukashenko. That action was harshly dispersed by the authorities. Six years later, the procession and rally in Minsk were held without detention, although the actions were not coordinated with the city authorities. The march and rally were called “the march of indignant Belarusians”. They were attended by two ex-presidential candidates - Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu and Mikalai Statkevich, as well as Anatol Lyabedzka, leader of the opposition United Civil Party, which is collecting signatures for repealing the decree. Belarusian political scientist Alexander Klaskouski notes that the opposition has competently used the discontent of the population and managed to conduct a good campaign for the abolition of the decree.

On Sunday, February 19, rallies against the decree were held in five regional centers: Gomel, Grodno, Vitebsk, Brest and Mogilev. Deputy Chairman of the United Civil Party Vasily Polyakov told RBC that from 2 thousand to 4 thousand people took part in the action in Gomel. He explained that the organizers tried to get official consent to hold the action, but they were refused. However, it was decided to hold the rally anyway, as the organizers considered the refusal to be a restriction of their right to freedom of expression.

In Gomel, as in other cities, people of different ages and social status, families with small children, pensioners, young people took part in the march, the Belarusian partisan portal reported. Opposition paraphernalia, traditional for unauthorized actions, was hardly visible. People held posters "I'm not a parasite" and from time to time chanted: "No parasite decree!" Cars passing by supported the protesters with signals.

As the participants in the rallies told Radio Liberty, many of them are forced parasites because they cannot find work. Some of the notices were received by mistake.

The dilemma of the authorities

The authorities have not yet commented on the citizens' speeches. Since Belarus began to normalize relations with Europe, they have switched from the practice of dispersing rallies and detentions to issuing fines for participating in unauthorized rallies, Klaskovsky notes. However, the political scientist noted that no fines were issued at the rallies held last weekend. He explains the unusual softness of the authorities both by the desire of Minsk to continue rapprochement with the European Union, for which it is necessary to improve the country's image, and by the fact that those who are accustomed to consider Lukashenka's electorate came to the rallies - not the usual opposition activists, but the middle class and ordinary workers. The actions, according to Klaskovsky, became a big headache for the top Belarusian leadership.

“The authorities are now choosing between bad and very bad. If they start to disperse the rallies, then it is not known what consequences this will lead to, "Polyakov believes. In his opinion, the Belarusian authorities remember well the actions of President Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine, when the dispersal of rallies provoked larger mass demonstrations.

It is difficult to predict how the authorities will behave in the future, says Klaskouski: Alexander Lukashenko was the author of the decree, more than once spoke in its defense, he cannot refuse it, otherwise he will lose face. “A person who can work is not disabled, he must work, earn for himself, for his family, for his children and benefit his country by paying taxes,” the President of Belarus explained earlier the need to introduce the levy.

Polyakov from the United Civil Party suggests that the decree "will not be canceled, but will be buried." In his opinion, people will definitely not receive notifications for 2016.

However, the activists intend to continue the protest actions. If the decree is not canceled, a new rally will take place on 25 March.

Participants of an unauthorized protest in Minsk (Photo: Sputnik / RIA Novosti)

How much is "parasitism"

The levy for "parasitism" (officially - the levy for financing government spending) was introduced by the decree of Alexander Lukashenko in April 2015. The authorities motivated this step by the fact that the able-bodied citizens of the country have a constitutional obligation to participate in financing government spending on health care, education, housing and communal services, public transport, etc. by paying taxes, duties and other payments. Belarusians not participating in funding pay the 2015 levy for the first time and must do so until February 20, 2017.

Amount of payment - 360 Belarusian rubles(about $190 at the current rate); for 2016 the fee will be already 420 RUB For non-payment or incomplete payment, a fine is imposed in the amount of two to four "base units" (in 2017 corresponds to 46-92 Belarusian rubles) or administrative arrest with mandatory involvement in the performance of community service.

Economists criticize

The Ministry of Taxes and Levies of Belarus sent a total of about 470 thousand notices to citizens to pay the levy. It turns out that the maximum local budgets (the tax is credited there) could collect 169 million Belarusian rubles from the "parasites". ($ 90 million). This would finance only about 1% of the expenditures of local budgets of Belarus in 2016, follows from the data of the Ministry of Finance of the republic. But in reality, fees from "parasites" will be much less: a week before the deadline, only 10% of payers paid the fee, the Ministry of Taxes and Duties reported on February 13. In addition, some of the "parasites" will be exempted from payment: citizens who, in 2015, actually stayed in Belarus for less than 183 days, are not required to pay the levy. Many Belarusians live most of the time in Russia, but since there is no border control, local tax authorities cannot track the border crossing. It is enough for such citizens to confirm their absence on the territory of Belarus for a period of more than six months in order not to pay the fee, local authorities assure.

Belarusian economists doubt that the levy will generally pay off the state's costs of levying it, the portal "Belorusskiye Novosti" writes.

There is no economic logic in the collection for "parasitism", says Dmitry Kruk, a researcher at the Belarusian Economic Research and Education Center (BEROC). According to him, the tax was introduced in order to solve the problem of non-payment of taxes in the border regions, in particular Brest and Grodno. In these regions, "quite a large" number of people engaged in cross-border trade while remaining in the shadow sector, he says. In fact, the collection affected other categories of citizens, and most of those for whom it was calculated found a way not to pay it, the economist points out. At the same time, it is not clear from what resources the truly unemployed must pay the fee. $ 190 is a considerable amount in a country where the average nominal salary is 800 rubles. ($ 427) in the capital or 683 rubles. ($ 364) outside Minsk and Minsk region (Belstat data for December 2016).

The authorities have estimated the number of "parasites" at 470 thousand people. This is more than ten times more than the number of officially registered unemployed (43.3 thousand at the end of 2015, according to the latest available data). At the same time, registered unemployed are not obliged to pay the fee. But in Belarus, few people get registered with the employment agencies: unemployment benefits are "purely symbolic", but rather serious responsibilities are imposed on the recipient, explains Kruk. For example, sooner or later such a citizen is obliged to agree to an existing vacancy; in addition, he may be sent to community service.