The tax burden on private businesses is likely to grow in 2026.
The reasons are clear: budget deficit and current external economic and geopolitical factors create the need additional sources of income.
At the same time, if we talk about Belarus, a significant part of the economy is the public sector and the quasi-public sector. Formally, many enterprises are called "joint-stock" or "private", but in fact they remain under full state control and operate according to non-market logic. Real private business - small and medium-sized - occupies a much smaller share and continues to shrink.
The paradox is that this particular private sector could become a growth point: due to economies of scale, greater efficiency, flexibility and the formation of human resources for the future. Instead, the pressure is increasing, and the business will either fade into the shadows, or collapse, or leave.
We can only hope for hydrocarbons, the prices and volumes of which no longer look guaranteed, and for gold and foreign exchange reserves, which may only be enough to patch holes.
But in any case, it has little to do with development.
