Belarusians Boycott Lukashenka’s Taxes

The authorities have fallen into their own trap.

Observer Valery Karbalevich commented Radio Svaboda on the road tax and the new proposal of the government.

- This sad story has begun in 2014. The authorities introduced a new tax for the Belarusians. But not for everyone, but only for car owners. It was called a transport tax, a car tax, a road tax. From the very beginning, the population considered it unfair, an attempt of the state to get into the pocket of a citizen.

There are enough of such misfortunes. However, as a rule, Belarusians usually obey. Do you remember a notorious joke about a Belarusian: should I take a rope with me?

But here someone's met his match. The story with the road tax ruins the myth of law-abiding Belarusians. They just do not pay it.

And this has not been an isolated case lately. Let's remember the year 2017 when the population boycotted the decree on parasites. Only 10% out of 470 thousand people who received the notice paid the tax.

Something similar happened to the road toll. Motorists simply stopped passing the MOT test. In 2016, 56% of them ignored the procedure. In 2018, 71% of car owners actually refused to pass the MOT test and pay the transport tax.

It is interesting how Belarusians respond to injustice. They do not protest, do not unite into a structure to legally lobby for the abolition of the legislative act, which is considered wrong and unfair. They just do not obey it, arrange silent sabotage.

Belarusian citizens ignore the state order only if no grave consequences follow. If they are fined, the fine is much less than the road tax. Such a thing is in the pocket.

As a result, the authorities have been thinking for years what to do with this public sabotage. Last year, new Prime Minister Siarhei Rumas decided to change the payment scheme soon after his appointment. The new variant unbinds the road tax and the MOT test and entails a decreasing rate if a car owner pays for a year. However, the Presidential Administration rejected the project for some unknown reason.

It would seem that the easiest and fairest way to pay the transport tax to tie it to the cost of gasoline: whoever refuels the most, therefore, pays more. According to Deputy Finance Minister of Belarus Dzmitry Kiyko, this option remains.

But the authorities will still face problems all the same. The main thing is a significant increase in gasoline prices will occur. It will be done in one way or another, due to the tax manoeuvre in Russia. The manoeuvre results in oil price moving towards the world one. Gasoline prices should follow. If this is not done, the Belarusian refineries will turn loss-making, the excise tax will have to be abolished and it will damage the budget. By the way, due to the tax manoeuvre, the excise tax rate on fuel has already been reduced by 25% since early 2019.

And everyone knows that the rise in gasoline prices is a very sensitive issue from a social and political point of view. The Belarusian authorities remember well the "Stop Gasoline" protest, which once paralyzed traffic in the capital.

Then the increase in fuel prices was cancelled. Prices will grow not only for car owners but also for owners of lawnmowers, chainsaws and other devices operating on gasoline. The authorities do not want to cause discontent of the population on the eve of two election campaigns.

Besides, as a result of this option other repercussions will occur. The plans of the government and the National Bank to curb the annual inflation rate within 5-6% may collapse.

Gasoline prices in Belarus will be much higher than in Russia. After all, losses from the tax manoeuvre are compensated to refineries from the federal budget there. Belarusians will have an obvious and demonstrative sample to compare. They will go to Russia for refuelling. It provides additional currency outflow.

There is no way out. Therefore, the authorities are looking for a way out of the trap they have fallen in.