The employment-related issues should be dealt with right away, Belarusian president Aliaksandr Lukashenka said at a meeting to discuss the employment promotion decree on 13 January, state-owned news agency BelTA has learned.
According to him, some 500,000 able-bodied people in Belarus are not officially employed and do not pay taxes, however they take advantage of social benefits provided by the government, like free healthcare service and education, subsidized housing and utility services and subsidized transportation, etc.
“Therefore, the government has the right to ask them: at whose cost will you live? These people should work, pay taxes and live at their own expense. Welfare mentality is unacceptable,” Aliaksandr Lukashenka said.
Lukashenka stated that the draft decree is targeted, first of all, against people who do not pay taxes to the budget.
“Maybe, they work somewhere, but not for the state. Therefore, tax evaders are in the focus. These are scroungers who do nothing, work nowhere and maybe even violate the law. These are also drunkards lying on the sidewalk and those who forgot that they have legs and arms to come to work and do something and pay taxes to the state,” he said.
After the discussion Lukashenka ordered to fine-tune the draft decree within a month.
www.belsat.eu/en, following BelTA
