Will Lukashenko Introduce a Tax on Air?

Pavel Pavlovich Latushka: Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, Representative of the Cabinet for Power Transition, Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management, and Leader of the "Latushka Team and Movement 'For Freedom'" faction within the 3rd convocation of the Coordination Council.

Have you noticed how housing and utility costs keep rising? Have you seen how much heavier your utility bills have become?

Every year, the so-called "authorities" claim that Belarusians cover only a small portion of housing and utility service costs, while the vast majority of expenses are generously compensated by the "state" — almost as if Lukashenko himself is paying from his own pocket. It’s a clever trick: they constantly raise the prices but present it as if they’re doing us a "favor," a "gesture of goodwill." They make it seem as if we should be "grateful" — after all, they "could have" raised the prices even higher. This is nothing but manipulation.

Over the past ten years, statements from the "dictator" and his "associates" suggest that the percentage of housing and utility service costs allegedly covered by the "state" is constantly increasing — sometimes "52%", sometimes "30%," then "20%," then "18%" — yet at the same time, people are paying more and more. How is this possible?

Let’s look at this from another angle. Who exactly is this "state" that so generously covers our bills? The answer is simple: the "state" is us, and the money it uses comes from our "taxes." "Taxes" are the main source of revenue for the Belarusian "budget," from which utility expenses are paid. This means that it is our money — our own contributions to the "state treasury" — funding these so-called "compensations." No matter how much Lukashenko tries to take credit for it, we are the ones footing the bill.

So, in the end, what exactly is "state propaganda" selling when it praises this supposedly "efficient state" that covers our costs? The answer is simple: "propaganda" is selling us "air". It’s selling us "nothing".

Even the "cheap energy resources" from the dictator’s "main partner" — Russia — haven’t stopped prices from rising, despite Lukashenko plunging the country deeper into "dependence" on Putin. Where is the promised "benefit" of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant ("BelNPP"), which was supposed to reduce energy costs for the population? We’ve already inherited all the "risks" of having a "nuclear station" on our territory, but where are the "savings"? The conclusion is clear: Lukashenko is becoming more and more "expensive" for Belarusians.

The next time you pay your "utility bills" and take money out of your wallet, remember this: at that very moment, Lukashenko is "relaxing" in one of his "18 luxurious residences." At the same time, another "apartment" is being built for someone in his vast "security apparatus," and more funds are being allocated for "state propaganda" — propaganda that will continue to sell "empty promises," insisting that you are the one "not paying enough".

This raises a rhetorical question: are "we" really "underpaying", or is it the "state" that is failing to do its "job"? The reality is that Lukashenko is the one "failing" — and he is also the one "not paying his fair share". Yet, through his controlled "propaganda machine", he continues to push the narrative of a "social state".

But the truth is undeniable: every year, more and more "money" is being taken from the "pockets of Belarusians" for "utility payments". And everyone in Belarus must remember who is truly responsible for this. The blame lies squarely with the "dictator himself".

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