The fullness of the consolidated regional budget was discussed in Vitebsk

How can the revenue of the consolidated regional budget be increased? What resources are not yet utilized, and what needs to be done to increase tax revenues? These questions were raised at a meeting of the presidium of the regional Council of Deputies.

– Tax authorities are actively using new forms of interaction with taxpayers, including the use of information technologies. People are developing a sense of responsibility towards the state and society. This is very important, – noted Dmitry Demidov.

Taxes, as emphasized by the Chairman of the Regional Council Dmitry Demidov, are an indicator of the economy's health and the level of societal civilization. In recent years, the amount of tax revenues has outpaced the growth of the gross regional product. They have increased from all sources. Personal income tax – by 21%, profit tax – by 42%, value-added tax – by 21%, property tax – by 58%. This indicates an improvement in the administration system and the enhancement of the fiscal authorities' work, which encourages people to fulfill their obligations to local budgets.

Valery Lobatsevich, Head of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of the Republic of Belarus for the Vitebsk Region, confirmed the statement with figures: for 8 months, 1 billion 960 million rubles were received into the regional budget. This is 400 million more than in 2023.

– These results have been achieved thanks to the reform of entrepreneurial activities, the improvement of financial literacy and the responsibility of taxpayers, which has increased voluntary payments to the budget, – reported Valery Lobatsevich.

The head of the department drew attention to the weak points. These include the high level of debt of economic entities to the budget, the presence of loss-making organizations, and enterprises paying low wages. Insufficient attention is paid to the development of small and medium-sized businesses and the involvement of the working-age population in economic activities. Resolving these issues will allow for increased budget payments and, consequently, the implementation of social programs and ensuring the growth of people's well-being.

Inna Yushchenko, Deputy Head of the Main Financial Department of the Regional Executive Committee, emphasized that the revenues of the regional budget directly depend on how well the economy is performing.

– It is important to increase the efficiency of the financial and economic activities of enterprises, create new highly productive jobs, fulfill tasks for wage growth, and stimulate the investment activity of taxpayers, – said Inna Yushchenko.

There is a share of payments to local budgets that are not controlled by tax authorities. This share is approximately 10% and is growing. It includes the sale of property, including land plots at auctions, income from paid services, fines, etc. To ensure the completeness of receipts to local budgets of non-tax revenues, an administration institute has been created. Administrators are committees, departments, divisions of executive committees, and other organizations.

Deputies noted both positive and insufficient activities of some district executive committees and outlined the main areas of work that will make our budget more substantial, and therefore, guarantee the full implementation of social programs.

Source: vitebsk-region.gov.by