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Announced decision to raise VAT rate to 22 percent is not final, Deputy Prime Minister Prakapovich says

 

The announced decision to raise the rate of value-added tax (VAT) from 20 to 22 percent in 2014 is not final, Deputy Prime Minister Pyotr Prakapovich said Friday, speaking at a meeting of the Council for Enterprise Development in Dzyarzhynsk, Minsk region.

“As for VAT, we are yet to discuss this issue,” he said. “A final decision has not yet been made. We will put forward a proposal not to change this rate. I think this is possible.”

Mr. Prakapovich also said that the government might start granting significant profit tax rebates in 2014 if all profit was used for modernization and development purposes. “We should return companies to a situation where all profit is used for development,” he said.

Under the current circumstances, the government is unable to sharply reduce the tax burden on businesses, Mr. Prakapovich noted. “If government revenues decrease, how will the social sector, education and public health survive?” he said.

Belarus does not need any revolution in the economic sphere because “any revolution is a shock, whereas the most important thing for us is to maintain stability and gradually improve the situation,” Mr. Prakapovich said. //BelaPAN