July

2000

From the editors

  Dear businessmen! The elections to the National Assembly are announced. From our point of view, businessmen should take part in these elections. The law about elections is imperfect. Today in the National Assembly there is no an expert in the field of the small business. That is why the laws are not well done. We shall support any candidate from your surrounding to whom you trust. We need people to take part in the elective committee. In Grodno there are 3 constituencies to 28.07.2000 years. From us it is necessary to nominate 4 men as candidates by petition (100 signatures for everybody). In other cities it is necessary to nominate only one man as a candidate, in Minsk - 10 men. The elective committees carry out the control over the elections and calculate the votes. The following stage, after 1.08.2000, is petitions for our candidates in the National Assembly (they need 1000 signatures for everybody). There is a lot of work. But if our problems are sounded in the parliament, we shall solve them much faster, including and the problem with the foreigners working at the markets. More in detail about the selective technologies you read in the bulletin “The Voter". There is one more large danger: the pseudo-leaders, populists and adventurers have again woken up. They betrayed us at the last strike. You will be deceived by some representatives of the state trade union "Sodrujnost", different "«leaders" of free and independent trade unions. Yes, among our members there are some little "beetles", which try to disorganise our movement from within. These separate "leaders" use a name of the trade unions for split of our movement from within. So be very careful when you accept the decision. If the actions of the protest are initiated not by the strike committee of the businessmen (the chairman is Valery Levonevsky), it means provocation. Drive the agent provocateurs away «in a neck», not paying attention to their name! We promised you, that we “shall beat off" the VAT we “have beaten it off". And so will be always. We answer for the actions and acts. Any action should be prepared. Let's remind, that the strike committee unites all progressive trade unions, including, the Belorussian Trade union of the Businessmen. Do not be deceived. As to Vitebsk and Vitebsk region, the co-ordinator of all actions of the strike committee and of the Byelorussian Trade union of the Businessmen is Inna Frolova (8-021-2) 36-67-56. Only she is authorised to make any statements from our name. Help her and everything will come out.

Press service of the Belorussian Trade union of the Businessmen

"The Clown"

Many, who talked with this man, say that he is mad, some say that he is an “informer” (non-staff employee of special bodies) and some say that he is an upstart. I think that they all are right only partially. About him it was possible not to speak, as this man is similar to "«Moska" which barks to the elephant from a known fable by Krylov. The elephant does not pay any attention to Moska, but that dog considers itself to be “strong”. There is one circumstance, which forces us to write about this citizen and to give some time to him. He was in our team and betrayed us.

Some years ago an elderly man who looks like as if he has had no certain residence for a long time glanced to our strike committee. He said that he was a chief of the Independent Trade union of businessmen of Polotsk and Novopolotsk. Our doors are open to everybody so we also believed this externally unpleasant man. Who and when chose V. Shevchenko as the chairman of the Trade union in Polotsk and Novopolotsk: for many of us it is still a riddle.

We made a serious mistake. Under our recommendation V. Shevchenko received the Grant on release of his own newspaper (Grant is an external gratuitous financing up to 24.000 dollars. USA). It is a separate large story how he swore eternal love to businessmen’s movement, ran after me with the request to give him the recommendation for reception of the Grant (without the recommendation Grants are not given). We gave the recommendations. We thought, that he is an adult: when money appear he will do his business, will begin to publish a newspaper for Vitebsk region. He began. But if someone read this newspaper, he will understand that we helped him to receive money in vain. The internal world of this man and his appearance is a united whole (see photo).

The sessions of the strike committee with participation of V. Shevchenko began to turn into the play with clowns. He could talk nonsense by hours, interrupt all and shout at all. He began to be invited to meetings very rarely. After direct treachery of the interests of the strike committee he was excluded from the strike committee because he together with state trade union tried to break the republican strike of the businessmen. After that V. Shevchenko took offence and simply became to do harm to us.

He himself does not represent serious danger. The monkey likes to be affected before the mirror and V. Shevchenko - before the public. His articles about those people who expelled him from the strike committee are the complete nonsense, and it is known to everybody. We call his newspaper “The Notes of the Mad”. He tries to unite with state and separate trade unions, with not absolutely decent people such as he, and also to mislead the businessmen error by the new association and it is a danger. For what is it necessary? The rigid confiscate measures for the businessmen are planned, and this can cause a new wave of strikes. How can we avoid it? To create pocket structure from "«moskas" and "«clowns", which will announce about strikes and hide in bushes. And instead of the planned and prepared actions of the protest, the isolated and spontaneous strikes of the businessmen will turn out. And such isolated strikes do not represent any danger for the authorities. For us, businessmen ,such steps are a probable failure of the republican action of the protest. The strike committee of the businessmen was, is and will be. We recommend to all businessmen not to be involved in adventures, which today are offered us.

It is not necessary to perceive seriously «Priest Gapon» and those similar to him!

The decision on strike, its terms will be accepted only after the filling of the appropriate forms and only by the decision of the strike committee. Now we prepare a large meeting to protect our economic rights and lawful interests.

                          Valery Levonevsky

Information message

17.07.2000 in Minsk the working meeting between the representatives of trade unions of businessmen (A. Vasiliev, V. Levonevsky) and the Ambassador of Italy in the Republic of Belarus Jovanny Cheruty was held. During the conversation which lasted one hour the questions of co-operation between the Italian and Belorussian businessmen, information exchange and perspective plans were discussed.

The information service of BTU (The Belorussian Trade union of Businessmen)

18.07.2000 in Minsk the Co-ordination Council of trade unions of businessmen was created.

The Belorussian Trade union of the Businessmen, Free trade unions (of businessmen) and Independent trade unions (of businessmen) are the basis of the Council. The main task of this Co-ordination Council is the development of the joint offers on change of the current legislation. Any businessmen’s organisations interested in the change of the current legislation (you may get any additional information on the phone: (017) 260-97-75 – Leonid Kalitenya) can take part in the work of the Co-ordination Council.

The idea of organisation of this Council arose during the seminar «The Problems of small business in the Republic of Belarus»which took place at that time. The seminar was organised with the help of the Fund of Fredrick Ebert. The representatives of the Ministry of Business and Investments, businessmen’s structures and organisations took part in the work of the seminar. There were attempts of the separate businessmen, invited to the seminar, to prevent the creation of the Co-ordination Council of Trade Unions of the Businessmen (CCTUB) and to accept the adventurous statements of the known liar and "«clown" V. Shevchenko from Polotsk. But the businessmen did not support him. Moreover, the people who organised CC have decided not to include such people in CCTUB and other structures, as the harm from such people is greater than the benefit. The new wave of the large actions of the protest comes nearer. «Priest Gapon» is not necessary to us. We should act as an united front to protect our rights and lawful interests.

On photos there are the participants of the seminar.

Question I have two cars which I used for some time. If both of them are sold how to pay the tax, from what income?

Answer: the assistant of the chief of inspection of the Municipal Tax Committee L. A. Antonova in Minsk said that according to the item 1.11 of the article 3 of the Law "About the income tax from the physical persons" the incomes received by them from the sale (within calendar year) of an automobile or other vehicle are not subject of the taxation. The income received by the citizen from the sale of the second vehicle within year is taxed with the income tax according to the item 1 of the article 16 of this Law. The expenses in a part of the cost of this property paid when it is bought are excluded from the incomes received by the physical persons as a result of the alienation of property, according to the Rule about structure, sizes and the order of expulsion of the expenses from the sums of the awards and other incomes of the physical persons registered in the National register of the legal acts of the Republic of Belarus 3.08.1999 N 8/688. According to the item 2 of the article 16 of the mentioned law the physical persons within 30 days from the date when they got the income represent the declaration to a tax body in the place of registration as the tax payer in which they indicate the size of the actually received income and the size of the supposed income up to the end of a calendar year. The payment of the estimated sums of the tax is made within 15 days from the date of representation of the declaration in a tax body.

(The Republic)