Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko: Paying taxes is a must

MINSK, 19 August (BelTA) – Paying taxes is a must, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Taxes and Duties Minister Sergei Nalivaiko and Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasily Gerasimov on 19 August, BelTA has learned.

“Paying taxes is a must. I very often cited other states as an example, the so-called democratic countries like the United States and others, where tax evasion is viewed as one of the most serious crimes. Maybe this is why these countries are rich. In fact, every person over there does not even think of evading taxes or bypassing tax laws. They would rather pay in advance to avoid any questions,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that many instructions had already been given to improve tax administration and now it is time to review the progress: “We have seen something and learned our lesson, especially last year. An instruction was given to improve tax legislation. Now the question is how this process is going.”

The president emphasized that people should understand what for and how much they need to pay, thus everything should be as easy as possible. “One should not need to have a degree in further mathematics to be able to calculate taxes. Therefore, it is necessary to keep streamlining tax legislation,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

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