29 March 2024, Friday, 11:15
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Road Tax To Hit Not Only Drivers’ Budgets

Road Tax To Hit Not Only Drivers’ Budgets

What surprises should you expect at petrol stations and shops?

The Ministry of Finance has prepared a draft decree that will separate the road toll from passing inspection. However, this will lead to a significant increase in the price of automobile fuel, the price of which is now going to include tax. The authorities announce a price increase of at least 10 kapeykas. Will it hit the pockets of Belarusians? How will the prices for goods and services that include fuel costs change? Does our country need the road toll? Well-known entrepreneur and blogger Viktar Harbachou answers all these questions.

- Firstly, you need to understand that the majority of drivers have not swallowed that the road toll bait. More than half of them do not pay it. The authorities saw that it is no point catching them, as they can’t catch everyone. The budget suffers great losses.

The authorities did some thinking and saw no other way out, but to include the road toll in the price of petrol. Most likely, this will happen. Probably 10-15 kapeykas, they will put it in the cost of a liter, justify that it is profitable for everyone, how much petrol you buy is your problem, but there is a tax.

Most likely, it will be before the New Year, or this tax will be introduced starting from the New Year. It will be hard for our population. This is another ploy for Belarusians, another move on the part of the authorities: to confuse, twist, and turn, to finally extort some money. But first to explain that it was a necessary step. Although we are well aware that the road tax brings no results. We do not see quality, most roads are broken and battered. And this is the way it is going to be further on.There will be a good road to Drazdy, ang good roads to all 19 residences.

- Why the didn’t authorities dare to untie the road toll from the technical inspection earlier?

- Firstly, before the so-called parliamentary election, they didn’t want a surge of any emotions, any riots, “Stop Petrol!” actions, and so on.

Therefore, they dragged on this process, the parliamentary campaign ended, and there are still some six or nine months to go before the presidential campaign. In this period, they must do everything to draw more funds from the population. So they will do it in January, February - we will murmur angrily for a while, there will be some meetings somewhere, rallies, demonstrations, and “Stop Petrol!”. Maybe.

The most important thing for them is the increase. And this is a good amount, because it will be 10% immediately. An almost 10% increase in fuel prices at the nationwide level means good profit. The so-called elections are over - now you can raise the price.

- The price of fuel is included in the cost of many goods and services. Will this affect prices significantly?

- Definitely. This is possible not the next day, but in a week, in two, within a month. There will be a jump in the prices for food and transport, taxis, any minibuses, any transport movement, and all logistics.

All this will be laid down in the final cost. The price of fuel is embedded in the future work of a certain circle of people. We will calculate depending on how much fuel will rise. If by 8-10%, then within a month we should expect no less increase in the prices for products and services which include fuel.

- By how much has the fuel price in Belarus increased recently?

- Over the past two years, it increased by 28-30%. European prices for fuel, and the salary is African.

- In your opinion, what should be the price per liter of automobile fuel in Belarus?

- It is necessary to coordinate the price with the average wage in the country. Therefore, the normal cost of fuel would be 1.20 - 1.40 rubles, within these limits. The population would not have murmured angrily then, it would have coped. A rise above 1.50 - 1.70, to 2 - this entails a lot of negative. And everything from personal family losses to profits at work. After 1.50 rubles there is a sharp drop in the economic standard of living of the population.

Therefore - 1.20 rubles, up to a maximum of 1.50 rubles. Given our salaries, you can no longer raise. If there is a dollar, this is not good, it will hit the budget not only for one family, but for the whole country. Then, shadow business will continue to be attractive for our population, in order to maintain a family budget. People who are primarily engaged in entrepreneurship will go into the shadows.

- Do we need a road tax in our country?

- If we consider that we are a transit country, where there are many cars with foreign numbers, then they could cover most of the costs. That would be a good suggestion. It would be a plus to Lukashenka if he directly indicated this, so that for our population we do not have tolls, but for foreigners we do.

But it turns out that a large percentage of different Russians come here, and the authorities demand this road tax from us, not from the visitors. That is, foreigners are beneficiaries, and we are “humiliated and offended”. Therefore, people are getting increasingly angry. And this brings them closer to the Square. A normal phenomenon, an increase by one kapeyka, ten kapeykas, and so on, and so on, is bringing the people closer to the Square. Closer to the real, final Square. In this life, each person should have one. Not a lot of them, do not spray yourself. One, the very last. And now the government is doing everything, raising taxes, raising prices for housing and utilities, and so on, so that everyone in life has the final Square. There will be one. Inevitably.

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