Illustration copyright AP Image caption Alexander Lukashenko promises not to be shy about tough measures

Citizens who have not contributed taxes to the Belarusian treasury for six months will be required to pay a “one-time fee” - more than $250 at the current exchange rate.

This norm is contained in the draft decree submitted by the government to President Lukashenko on stimulating the employment of able-bodied citizens.

The decree, as planned, will be signed by the Belarusian president in a month – at least, that’s how long Lukashenko allotted for officials to finalize the document.

The draft decree does not contain the term “parasitism,” but President Lukashenko is not against calling a spade a spade and promises not to be shy about tough measures.

“If you want to bring back the concept of “parasitism,” bring it back. It will be clearer for the people. By any means that we know and know how to do, we need to make these people work!” - Lukashenko said at one of the recent meetings on employment and migration issues.

On Tuesday, at a meeting with the developers of the document, the Belarusian president urged not to be afraid of harsh decisions and criticism from opponents. “We need to look the least at this and solve the problems that are facing our society and state today,” Lukashenko noted.

It is proposed to introduce administrative and criminal liability for “non-participation in financing government expenditures.” Payment of a “one-time fee” does not relieve liability for illegal business activities or concealment of income.

Calculation on internal resources

Since 2015, the amount of personal income tax in Belarus has been increased to 13%. The 1% added to the previous norm, as the authorities say, will go to finance programs to protect motherhood and childhood.

The minimum length of service required to assign a labor pension has also been increased from 10 to 15 years. The average size of the labor pension at the end of the year was $245 (in Belarusian equivalent), but those who did not work for the minimum length of service, according to the new law, are entitled to only a social pension - 700 thousand Belarusian rubles (1 dollar now costs 14,330 rubles at the National Bank exchange rate ). In addition, “under-earned” citizens can apply for a social pension five years later than those applying for a labor pension.

President Lukashenko did not rule out that the retirement age in Belarus could be raised.

“But all these measures, even if they are capable of having a positive impact on the number of labor resources, are only in the long term. And we need to solve the problems of effective employment without putting it on the back burner,” Alexander Lukashenko said at the meeting.

Russia and oil failed

Until recently, the capacity of the Belarusian budget looked very good in the mirror of official statistics. But the Russian financial crisis, which broke out against the backdrop of the conflict with Ukraine, forced the Belarusian government to admit that the treasury was emptying.

Exports of basic Belarusian goods to Russia in January-November last year decreased by a billion dollars. Belarusian buses, televisions, agricultural machines and much more, traditionally sold to their ally and main trading partner, remained in domestic warehouses. On food supplies to Russia, with an increase in physical volumes, Belarus lost $266.8 million due to the depreciation of the Russian ruble; Rosselkhoznadzor has repeatedly blocked these supplies, voicing complaints about the quality of Belarusian products and provoking the wrath of the leadership in Minsk.

Illustration copyright AP Image caption Belarus does not rule out the possibility of raising the retirement age

“The main problem with collecting the budget is that it was calculated, as is now clear, on unrealistic assumptions that oil would cost $80 per barrel, and the dollar would cost 40 Russian rubles,” explains Minsk economist Sergei Chaly. “Everything has not happened for a long time.” “And the benefits from the export of petroleum products, from leaving in the budget the export duties for petroleum products that were previously transferred to Russia, were already indicated by completely different figures, less by at least a billion dollars. In this situation, you have to look for crumbs and from anyone.”

The Belarusian authorities announced a 15% increase in the single tax rate for individual entrepreneurs starting in March; the tax for apartment renters also increased by 15-20%; income tax for banks increased from 18 to 25%.

"Parasites" involuntarily

It is almost impossible to calculate how many people in Belarus are shirking work and paying taxes that are useful to the fatherland.

The level of officially registered unemployment for a long time is declared equal to 0.5% of the working population; According to the latest reporting data from the Ministry of Labor, 4 million 474.2 thousand people work - at least a million less than the actual number of the working age population recorded by statistics.

It was this million that the Ministry of Internal Affairs recently called for to be brought to justice and pay taxes, claiming that the “missing” Belarusian citizens rushed to work in Russia.

Officially, however, 4,400 people left for work in Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs clarified in the fall, having come under the caustic comments of critics who compared police statistics with the statistics of the National Bank published almost simultaneously. According to the National Bank, in the second quarter of last year alone, Belarusians received $267.8 million in transfers from abroad, of which $157.6 million came from wages. It turns out that each of the guest workers received more than 10 thousand dollars a month just for “work”?

Thousands of Belarusians returned from working in Russia for the New Year. “I’ve never received 10 thousand dollars,” admits Alexander, a high-rise installer and high-class specialist.

“The boss gathered us together and said honestly: guys, take as much as they give, otherwise these rubles will completely depreciate. I received almost half less than what I expected and what they promised and paid before, if I convert my Russian earnings into dollars,” - the man says.

In Minsk, Sasha is still resting and “warming up” after the Russian North, estimating that the earnings here in his specialty are almost equal to the fallen Russian ones.

In small towns the situation is worse: a cotton mill in Baranovichi gave workers part of their earnings from the bed linen they produced; Dozens of enterprises announced unpaid “New Year holidays”; Even recent industrial “flagships” are periodically transferred to a shortened work week (with a corresponding reduction in earnings).

"With a good club"

“Citizens who work abroad are not parasites, but earners, they supply foreign currency to the country!” - Leonid Zaiko, head of the Strategy analytical center, is categorical.

“The authorities have flogged themselves: after all, according to official statistics, there is full employment in Belarus. And it is by and large impossible to find people who do not pay taxes, because in Belarus the indirect taxation system is quite developed: that is, you can pay through excise taxes, added value of the product and the like and replenish the budget,” the expert adds.

By the way, VAT revenues account for a third of the Belarusian budget; income tax from working citizens is less than half the amount received from VAT.

Illustration copyright Reuters Image caption Belarus lost $266.8 million on food supplies to Russia due to the depreciation of the Russian ruble

But President Lukashenko demands “with a good cudgel” to bring to the bench those who love to honor the country only through the alcohol excise tax and “in cold water” to bring other social dependents to their senses.

“They may work for themselves somewhere, but not for the state. ... These are parasites who do nothing, do not work, and, perhaps, are “clients” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, committing certain offenses. This and those who are lying drunk under the fence, and those who have forgotten that they have arms and legs in order to come to work and do something by paying taxes to the state,” indicated the 500,000th, according to his information, contingent of idlers President Lukashenko.

Analyst Sergei Chaly believes that the main executors of the presidential decree, as in Soviet times, are primarily local police officers.

“To be honest, I am skeptical that the indicated tough measures can be implemented and that there will be at least some benefit from them. Administration costs may turn out to be greater than the tax arrears that are caught,” the expert notes.

And enterprising supporters of “working for yourself” are seriously discussing on Internet forums whether it is cheaper to pay a “tax on parasitism” than to spend time and effort on official and rarely profitable employment.

The document was published on Thursday, January 25, and immediately came into force. He abolished the tax on parasitism (officially a levy to finance government spending), but introduced another monetary punishment for those who do not want to work. From January 1, 2019, parasites will have to pay in full for some services that are subsidized by the state for others.

Komsomolskaya Pravda found answers to naive questions about the document.

Why is a new decree needed?

A year ago, Alexander Lukashenko suspended the decree on parasitism and ordered it to be revised. Now officials emphasize: Decree No. 1 is not “working on mistakes,” but a fundamentally new document. His goal is to help everyone who wants one find a job.

The decree is aimed at maximizing assistance to citizens in finding employment, providing them with legal employment, and is based on the principle of social justice and the participation of all citizens in the life of society, said First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection Andrei Lobovich at a press conference.

Now the state will determine every year which regions have the worst job situation. Additional money will be sent there for counseling the unemployed, retraining, organizing paid public works, and so on.

Monitoring the implementation of the requirements of the decree will be permanent commissions under the executive committees, which will include deputies, representatives of labor authorities, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, housing and communal services, and public organizations. These same commissions will resolve issues related to parasites: for example, to understand why people of working age do not work anywhere.

It turns out that the tax on parasitism has been abolished?

Yes. But those who do not work will still be punished with rubles.

Able-bodied citizens not employed in the economy will pay for services determined by the Council of Ministers at prices and tariffs that ensure full reimbursement of the economically justified costs of their provision, said Andrei Lobovich.

Simply put, parasites will have to pay in full for services that the state helps others pay for. Previously, parasites had to pay a fee to finance government spending, but now they will finance government spending directly. The difference is in the amount. The fee was fixed - 20 basic units (now it is 490 rubles). From 2019, everyone will have their own amount, which can be either more or less.

What will parasites pay in full?

It is still unknown; the Council of Ministers will determine the list by April 1. But among the services subsidized by the state are medicine, education, utilities, public transport...

During the discussion of the decree, it was only about housing and communal services, clarified Tamara Krasovskaya, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives on Labor and Social Issues.

Is this measure relevant, given that the government plans to achieve 100% payment for utilities for everyone?

This decision will be taken by the government alone. We will work in the regions, we will consult with people and see how this will work in practice. (...) Today it is difficult and premature to say what the list of services will be,” Tamara Krasovskaya answered.

If a non-working person and a working person live in an apartment, how will the non-working person pay for “his” full utilities?

There is no answer to this question yet. At the same time, officials assured that the mechanism of “difficult life situations” that appeared during the first decree will be preserved. That is, a person will be able to contact a commission under the executive committee and ask to be exempted from financing government expenses. And now his family members will also be able to do this. Apparently, in the minds of officials it looks something like this: a working wife of a non-working husband will be able to come to the commission, talk about their (or his) difficult life situation and ask for permission not to pay full utilities.

The application can be submitted by family members living with a citizen who does not participate in the economy. Mom will come and say: I have a social problem in the family, my son doesn’t want to work,” Tamara Krasovskaya gave an example. - This is another key point why commissions are created: not only to promote employment, but also to see in what situation the family lives. Determine why a person drinks, why he doesn’t work, and connect other organs. (...) For example, there are people who hide the fact that their mother or father suffers from serious cancer, and they have been caring for them for a whole year. Therefore, the commission will decide that the person finds himself in a difficult life situation.

How does a parasite know that he is a parasite?

Previously, notices of payment of the fee were sent by registered mail; more than 470 thousand such messages were sent out. Now what?

Citizens learn about this from local authorities. The task of local authorities is to reach everyone who potentially ends up on these lists and provide them with assistance and offer their services in employment,” said Andrei Lobovich.

Let us remember that in the previous decree, parasites were people who worked less than 183 days in a year. There were exceptions: pensioners, students, conscripts, maternity leave, those who live abroad, and so on. Who will now have to pay for the services in full will also be decided by April 1.

How will they identify those who can but do not want to work?

Like last time, the government wants to create a special database that will include all unemployed Belarusians of working age. It will be compiled in two stages. First - at the country level based on republican information sources (for example, data from the same Social Protection Fund). Then it will be filtered locally.

Last time the base, frankly speaking, was not a success. Thousands of people received notifications by mistake.

That is why we propose a two-level formation of these databases. Local authorities know the people who live on their territory and have more opportunities to reach each person and find out what they are doing. Only after working out on the ground will lists be formed and approved in order to eliminate the issues that existed,” answered Andrei Lobovich.

Will unemployment benefits increase?

Currently, unemployment benefits cannot exceed 49 rubles (2 basic values). The government has repeatedly promised to increase it to at least the minimum subsistence level (currently 197 rubles 81 kopecks) or even introduce unemployment insurance. But in the new decree they decided not to touch benefits.

So far, these measures have been recognized as premature, and the government is not considering increasing the amount of unemployment benefits,” said Andrei Lobovich.

: shadow tax (Venice), tattoo and piercing tax (Arkansas, USA) or TV tax (Germany). Despite the outright absurdity, these taxes exist in the countries of the so-called. “first world” with a relatively stable level of well-being and does not apply to all categories of the population, because not every resident of Arkansas wears tattoos and piercings, or not every Venetian is the owner of a cafe or store that is subject to a shadow tax. But residents of the geographical center of Europe were a little less fortunate.

Decree No. 3. Tax on "parasitism".

On April 2, 2015, the President of Belarus signed Decree No. 3 “On the Prevention of Social Dependency,” which was popularly called the “Decree on Parasites.”This legal act was issued in order to stimulate able-bodied citizens to work and ensure that they fulfill their constitutional obligation to participate in the financing of public expenditures - reports text legislative act . Pensioners, incapacitated citizens, persons under 18 years of age, and disabled people are exempt from paying the “tax on parasitism.” The fee is collected from citizens of the Republic of Belarus, as well as stateless persons and foreign citizens permanently residing in the territory of the Republic of Belarus, who“did not participate in financing government expenditures” (i.e. they didn’t work), or did so for less than 183 days. The fee is 20 basic units per tax period (per calendar year), that is, approximately 236 USD at the exchange rate as of January 2017. Non-payment or incomplete payment leads to a fine of 2 to 4 basic units, or administrative arrest with prosecutionsocially useful work. Arbeit macht frei!!! It is noteworthy that the labor of such a person detained for tax evasion during the period of administrative arrest, taking into account the funds that the state spends on maintenance,depreciates by half. By January 2017 the tax office counted approximately 400 thousand “parasites”, which is not so small for a country with a population of approximately 9.5 million people. While some developed capitalist countries are going to introduce an “unconditional basic income”, which in its essence does not lead to a solution to the problem, but only helps to smooth out capitalist contradictions, but against its background, levying a tax on the unemployed looks truly medieval obscurantism.

Participation in financing government spending and VAT

What determines the relevance of the problem posed? After all, it would seem that Decree No. 3 was adopted almost two years ago and, according to some, expresses the Soviet principle “he who does not work, does not eat.” Let's start with the fact that Article 56 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, which is indirectly referenced in Decree No. 3, indeed obliges citizens to participate in financing government spending, but in fact citizens already participate in financing government spending by paying VAT and other hidden taxes.

Article 56. Citizens of the Republic of Belarus are obliged to take part in financing government expenditures by paying state taxes, duties and other payments.

“The so-called parasites pay almost as much taxes as a working person, because they pay direct taxes - excise taxes, VAT, import duties. They make up about 2/3 of all taxes in the country’s budget,” Belarusian economist Leonid Zlotnikov comments on the situation.

The decree itself, adopted almost two years ago, actually came into force relatively recently. From November 2016 to January 2017, the number of “parasites” detected by the Ministry of Taxes and Duties increased almost 8 times. Until November, some adjustments were made to it, and a database of citizens allegedly not participating in the financing of government spending was being compiled. Immediately after the deployment of a full-scale campaign to prevent social dependency, a suicide occurred in the city of Rogachev, which had already become resonant, the reason for which was the so-called “chain letter” (as the people called the notice of the need to pay tax). The woman who lost her job was simply unable to pay the fee... and hanged herself *. In the meantime Dmitry Medvedev Alexander Lukashenko says that there is no money, but you hold on endure everything and, according to some sources, is completing the construction of his 17th residence. And this tragic incident is not the only one of its kind,On October 3, 60-year-old Aivar Yaskevich paid 360 denominated Belarusian rubles in tax for “parasitism,” and on December 6 he jumped from the 5th floor of his apartment in Osipovichi. He left a note and a receipt for payment of the “tax on parasites” on the table.It was written there : “I have never been a parasite, a rapist, a robber, I have worked honestly all my life.”

* Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus refutes He calls this information and the cause of suicide “depressive state.” You can read about how capitalism is connected with depression on the World Bank .

"Who does not work shall not eat". Capitalism and unemployment

As for those who unconditionally approve of such measures and remember the good old “who doesn’t work, doesn’t eat,” then it is worth realizing that Belarus is a country with a market economy, and the market economy was, is and will remain a companion to unemployment. Thus, in economics there is the concept of “natural level of unemployment”, and in Belarus it amounts to 6% of the total economically active population 4 491,7 thousand people, that is almostfour and a half million . It is also worth noting that the percentage of the “natural rate of unemployment” is always given by liberal (who are now the majority) economists, one might say, ideally: this is the level of natural unemployment that should be, and not the one that actually is. And of course, in conditions of economic crises, this percentage is inevitably exceeded for natural economic reasons, i.e. because of the crisis itself. Thus, even under the ideal functioning of a market economy, there will always be a certain number of citizens who will not be able to find a job and pay the “parasitism” tax.

World practice**

In Bulgaria, since the times of the People's Republic, an article has been preserved in the criminal code, which can conditionally be called “for parasitism.” For a long time now, no one has been given real prison terms for it. Bulgarian law enforcement officers use it to combat prostitution and, as a rule, the case is insignificant. fines . In other countries, where the percentage of unemployed is quite high, there are no such taxes, although in Italy the unemployed approximately 40% . In German, the phrase “refusing to work” appeared during the era of the Third Reich. This designation was used as a stigma for those who disagreed with the regime. Nazi authorities used fines for "refusal to work" to persecution their political opponents. After the war, Germany abandoned restrictions of this kind. Article 2, paragraph 1 of the German Constitution is also strictly observed with regard to the human right to work or sit with folded arms. There is no similar measure in France, where the number of unemployedofficial statistics 3.5 million. In Finland, it is even profitable to be unemployed. According to the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, on average Finland spends 21 thousand euros per month on the maintenance of one unemployed person. This amount includes both the allowance for an unemployed Finn andvarious services provided by the state.

**According to materials.

Increased exploitation

Obviously, the unemployment tax in Belarus has two purposes:

1. Increased exploitation, and as a consequence - an increase in the profits of the state (and not only state) bourgeoisie.
2. Preservation of a huge bureaucracy.

It is difficult to give other logical explanations for this. In fact, Decree No. 3 abolishes the right to an eight-hour working day, because in order to “fit into the market” and withstand competition, the worker will have to agree to the most slavish conditions of exploitation that are possible. The Ministry of Taxes and Duties does not even try hide this: “Competition has increased and people are holding on to their jobs.” The conditional “liberalization” of political life in Belarus is compensated by authoritarian economic measures. In some regions, conscious citizens have already begun collecting signatures for the abolition of Decree No. 3. However Chartism and similar movements showed their inconsistency to him back in the 19th century. Even if the struggle is successful through collecting signatures and repealing the Decree, the natural crisis of the capitalist economy will not go away, and instead of open forced labor, we will get a daily increase in prices, tariffs, and a drop in wages, which in essence is also forced labor. The solution is not reforms, but a complete replacement of the existing system, where explicit and implicit coercion to work will disappear along with such concepts as unemployment and exploitation.

13.2 thousand Belarusians have still not applied for a refund of the fee paid to finance government expenditures for 2015. The total amount of tax they contributed was about 3.59 million rubles (1.75 million dollars in equivalent). According to the presidential “On Promoting Employment,” those who paid a fee to finance government spending must have their money returned.

The photo is for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Daria Buryakina, TUT.BY

Tax officials reviewed 49.5 thousand applications from Belarusians who wished to return the paid fee to finance government spending. So, in 2017, 20.5 thousand people applied for a refund, in 2018 - 27.5 thousand, and in the first half of this year - 1.5 thousand...

In total, paid taxes were returned for a total amount of 15.01 million rubles.

Let us remind you that 62.7 thousand citizens paid a fee to finance government expenses in 2015 in the amount of 18.6 million rubles.

To get a refund of the tax paid, you need to write an application to the tax office at your place of residence and provide an identification document. The tax authorities return the money either to an account in a Belarusian bank, or in cash at the Belarusbank cash desks. The money will be returned within a month from the date of application.

Tax on parasitism

Let us recall that on April 2, 2015, he signed Decree No. 3 “On the Prevention of Social Dependency,” which introduced the so-called tax on parasitism. According to it, a fee of 20 basic units had to be paid to the treasury by those who did not pay taxes at all or paid them less than 183 days a year.

In 2017, there were protests across the country against the tax on parasitism, with participants detained and tried. On March 9 of the same year, the president decided to suspend the collection of fees from “parasites” for a year.

On January 25 last year, Alexander Lukashenko issued Decree No. 1, which provides for measures to promote employment of the population. The new decree abolished the collection of taxes from those not employed in the economy, but introduced payment for some housing and communal services at economically justified tariffs: from January 1 of this year - hot water supply, and from October 1 - gas supply and heat supply.

Belarus updated the decree on “social dependency” by adopting a new decree on “assisting citizens in finding employment,” “stimulating employment,” and carrying out preventive work with “asocial elements.” The new decree gives local commissions the right, without trial and at their own discretion, to send “asocial” citizens to medical and labor dispensaries 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 “stated in a new edition” by Decree No. 3 of April 2, 2015, “On the prevention of social dependency.”

And since local authorities in Decree No. 1 are assigned the role of people close to the population and responsible for the implementation of the decree, pro-government candidates in the local elections on February 18 received a topic to communicate with the electorate about how they will 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 admitted that the state is exploiting its 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 formalization. In this case, the new decree shows that the state is actually god and king.

There is also good news: the Ministry of Taxes and Duties has promised to return the fees to finance government spending that have already been paid by citizens under Decree No. 3. True, the return period is not indicated, and the mechanism is unclear. It is only known that those wishing to do so will need to write a return application.

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

The decision about who leads a lifestyle sufficiently antisocial to be subject to resocialization will be made by officials who are members of the “employment commissions.” Decree No. 1 legalizes the activities of these commissions, which already exist in fact, and expands their powers, allowing them to make decisions on placing “asocial” persons in medical treatment centers. Moreover, due to the lack of a legal framework, such decisions will be made at the discretion of officials. Currently, in addition to searching for work for those who want to find one, commissions compile lists of people who, for whatever reason, do not want to find official employment—potential candidates for “resocialization.”

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

“Previously, only the court sent people to the LTP, and only people suffering from chronic alcoholism, drug addiction or substance abuse. And also those who did not reimburse the costs of maintaining children by the state if they were brought to administrative responsibility several times a year. Now what? If we take the decree literally, then the executive committee will be able to send any parasite to the LTP for up to 12 months... Without warning or bringing to administrative responsibility,” lawyer Alexander Zhuk explained the situation 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 Belarusian budget for 2018 is made up of a 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 the store to shop.

Instead of an annual “levy to finance government expenditures,” popularly nicknamed the “tax on parasitism,” the decree introduced “payment for state-subsidized services at their full cost.” This will apply from January 1, 2019 to all able-bodied citizens who are not officially employed, that is, who do not pay income taxes. Neither the services subject to payment nor their full cost are determined by decree. The Council of Ministers of Belarus must also sort out this issue, and also by April 1, 2018. Definitely, no one in Belarus has ever had the chance to pull off such a brilliant April Fool's joke.

Context

A police state without embellishment

Belarusian news 03/27/2017

Parasites opposed Lukashenko

Latvijas Avize 04/13/2017

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 Affairs Tamara Krasovskaya clarified that housing and communal services will be billed at full cost, this did not provide complete clarity. 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 limit itself to charging “parasites” the full cost of heating and hot water, or will it introduce payment for other government services, the free availability 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 government institutions, without reservations about employment. “I wonder if calls to the police, firefighters, or ambulance will also cost a fee?” — asked 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 it will actually act is completely unclear. I have never seen such a vague regulatory act,” said Sergei Balykin, chairman of the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. And Valery Karbalevich, a political scientist and expert at the Strategy analytical center, believes that “the new decree contains mines” that will lead to serious consequences when the law is implemented. Both analysts believe that the authorities did not have enough political will to recognize the previous decree No. 3 as a failure, and the new No. 1 was developed solely for the purpose of saving face.

Let us remember that Decree No. 3 appeared against the backdrop of an economic crisis, when the authorities were thinking about how to replenish the budget, and citizens were thinking about how to survive in the face of massive layoffs and raising the retirement age. As a result, when “parasites” began to receive notices from the tax office in December 2016, many were unable to pay the required amount. Although defaulters were threatened with fines and arrest for up to 15 days with involvement in public works, out of 470 thousand people who received notices, only 44.5 thousand paid the “parasite” tax - less than 10% of the total number of those covered by the law. Instead of the planned 100 million dollars, this brought about 7.14 million dollars to the budget - a more than modest amount on a state scale.

It also turned out that the accounting system that identifies “parasites” does not work well, as does the state employment system. That in small towns there are simply no jobs. Finally, Decree No. 3 did not provide for many situations, which is why the sick, their relatives caring for them, demobilized soldiers and university graduates were included in the “parasites.” The mechanism for applying the decree had to be adjusted on the fly, 109 regulations were changed and adopted during the 34 months of its validity, and still it worked ineffectively. At the same time, discontent was growing in society. The formulation “social dependency” was perceived by many as an insult. People were also outraged 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 suicides of the unemployed, and street protests reached proportions that Belarus had not seen since the mid-90s.

In the end, the authorities backed down. True, having suspended the effect of Decree No. 3, Lukashenko said that it would not be cancelled, but “significantly improved.” The revised version in the form of No. 1 was presented at the end of January.

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