Valery Lobatsevich: "Envelope salaries deprive workers of social guarantees established by the state"
Valery Lobatsevich, Head of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of the Republic of Belarus for the Vitebsk Region:
— I listened very attentively to the speech of the President of Belarus, especially to the aspects that directly concern the economy. Undoubtedly, the topic of "envelope" salary payments raised by the head of state is very relevant. This negatively affects the economy as a whole, as the source of such payments is hidden income, which leads to under-receipt of payments to the budget, and also creates unequal competitive opportunities in the market compared to conscientious taxpayers. And the second important aspect is that "envelope" salaries deprive employees of social guarantees established by the state, including pension provision.
Therefore, tax authorities constantly pay very serious attention to this. Thus, in 2020, 35 cases of "envelope" salary payments were detected in the Vitebsk region, and all responsible officials were brought to justice. In addition, I want to draw attention to the fact that changes have been made to the Tax Code since 2021. Now, if a tax authority, during control measures or based on information from law enforcement agencies, establishes facts of "envelope" salary payments, i.e., without reflection in accounting records, then individuals will not pay income tax on these amounts, as before, but the burden of payments will fall on the employer. Therefore, to protect their rights, I suggest that individuals who have encountered this negative phenomenon contact the tax authorities. We will definitely sort it out and help restore social justice. And I want to warn the heads of such organizations that the strictest response measures will be taken regarding these facts. This applies not only to inspections of business entities for concealing revenue subject to taxation but also to specific officials (managers, founders, chief accountants, as well as their close relatives) within the framework of income and property declaration.
All planned economic development activities are essentially aimed at increasing production efficiency, so that citizens have more decent wages, and at stimulating domestic demand, which will ultimately contribute to strengthening the financial position of economic entities, and therefore, to an increase in tax revenues to the budget.