President Alexander Lukashenko has issued Decree No 143 “On Certain Issues of Taxation” making amendments to some presidential decrees regulating taxation relations.

The basic rates of the single tax levied on individual entrepreneurs and other natural persons are now set in Belarusian roubles instead of euros which used to be the case. It will help simplify the tax payment procedure for these payers.

The Decree authorises local councils of deputies to increase (decrease), but no more than two times, the rates of land tax and property tax for certain categories of payers. The purpose of this move is to raise additional revenues for local budgets in 2010.

The Decree provides for a five-year income tax exemption for the individuals moving to Belarus for permanent residence on condition that they transfer their cash assets to Belarus too. The types of income include dividends, interest payments, royalties, income gained on securities on real estate sale.

In addition, the Decree has a number of other provisions, including those bringing the terminology used in the presidential decrees regulating taxation in conformity with the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus.