Will Belarus Introduce a Tax on Tips? MART Answered
The Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of Belarus issued a statement on the issue of introducing a tax on tips.
Deputy head of the department Nina Yemelyanova recalled: about a year ago, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Economy.
The event was held with the participation of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties, the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade and other interested agencies.
The issue of enshrining the concept of “tips” in legislation was discussed.
There are government agencies that are for the legalization of tips. It is proposed to include tips in the waiter's earnings and deduct income tax from them, but not the full amount, but a preferential rate, - Yemelyanova said on the air of the Belarus 1 TV channel.
According to her, there is no final decision on this issue yet.
The head of the supervisory board of the Association of Restaurateurs of Belarus, Evgeny Vasiliev, recalled that the organization initiated the legalization of tips several years ago.
Why did the issue stall? Because tips are considered a salary, from which you need to pay not only income tax, but also contributions to the Social Security Fund, he noted.
But there is another opinion that tips are a gift, and such a concept exists in the legislation, and up to a certain threshold these amounts are not taxed, Vasiliev added.
