Belarusian senators approved the budget for 2012 and amendments to the Tax Code

20 December, Minsk /BELTA/. Belarusian senators at today's session of the Council of the Republic approved the bill "On the Republican Budget for 2012" and amendments to the Tax Code, BELTA correspondent reports. As Chairman of the Standing Commission on Economy, Budget and Finance of the Council of the Republic Vadim Popov noted to journalists, the main task of the budget is to ensure financing for all areas provided for by the country's socio-economic development program. Speaking about the specifics of the budget for the coming year, Vadim Popov noted that more resources will be directed to construction projects with a high degree of readiness. He said that the most significant industries that will allow for the maximum resolution of export issues will be financed. Vadim Popov also noted that in the coming year, at least 65% of manufactured products should be exported. It is also necessary to solve the main task - to achieve a positive balance of $1.5 billion. "The future budget is deficit-free primarily because we can afford to spend only what we earn," emphasized Vadim Popov. In 2012, the social orientation of budget expenditures will be maintained. A significant part of the budget will be allocated to labor costs, pension payments, scholarships, benefits, other payments, and funds for the implementation of state social standards. Healthcare and education have also been identified as priorities of budget policy. The formation of the republican budget for the coming year has been carried out on a deficit-free basis. The measures in the field of tax policy, taken into account in the draft budget for 2012, are designed to improve tax administration, adapt rates to new price conditions, increase budget revenue collection, reduce the tax burden on small and medium-sized businesses, and stimulate the production of high-tech goods.

The total consolidated budget revenue for 2012 is projected at Br141,809.7 billion, or 27.8% of GDP. Revenue for the republican budget project is planned at Br92,772 billion, an 86.3% increase compared to the expected execution of the 2011 budget. Consolidated budget expenditures are projected at Br141,809.7 billion, or 27.8% of GDP. The main objectives of the public finance sector will be to enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the national economy, ensure the guaranteed fulfilment of the budget's financial obligations to external and internal creditors, maintain the quality of budget services, and provide social protection for vulnerable population groups. The draft law "On Amendments and Additions to the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus" aims to implement the main directions of the fiscal and tax policy for 2012. Starting from 2012, as part of the efforts to reduce the tax burden on the economy and further simplify the tax system, the draft law includes a reduction in the profit tax rate from 24% to 18%. This is accompanied by a change in the approach to tax incentives for investment, by abandoning the current exemption from taxation of profits allocated for capital investments and introducing a system of accelerated depreciation for tax purposes, as well as a mechanism for carrying forward losses to future profits without quantitative restrictions. The draft law further simplifies the tax system and the procedures for calculating and paying specific taxes, reduces the tax burden, makes the code's provisions easier for taxpayers to understand, and addresses a number of problematic taxation issues based on the results of the code's practical application.

Furthermore, the senators approved the draft law "On the Budget of the State Non-Budgetary Social Protection Fund of the Republic of Belarus for 2012". The document stipulates that the fund's budget revenues will amount to Br47,550.9 billion. Planned state social insurance contributions amount to Br46,326.5 billion, and non-tax revenues to Br1,224.4 billion. Br47,245.5 billion will be spent from the fund's budget, of which Br36,817.8 billion, or 77.9% of total expenditures, will be allocated to pension provision for citizens. The calculation of these expenditures was planned based on 2.5 million recipients per month and an average old-age pension of Br1,208.0 thousand. The remaining funds are mainly directed towards the payment of benefits, including those for families raising children, for temporary disability, for pregnancy and childbirth, and for other purposes stipulated by law.

BELTA