Providing Incentives for Intellectual Labor through Tax Policy in Belarus

This paper discusses the idea of providing tax incentives for scholars and researchers as a necessary factor in the formation of innovative environment. The research aims at formulating proposals for increasing income from intellectual work through tax incentives based on the analysis of scientific research context and existing tax regime for Belorussian researchers. It is argued that the quantity and quality of intellectual labor depend on the tax regime applied. Academic science environment in Belarus is analyzed and the mechanism of taxation of researchers’ income is discussed in its context. The structure of current costs for research and development is demonstrated. Authors show the insufficiency of the existing tax incentives for intellectual labor, including research grants. The analysis is focused on the mechanism of taxation and collection of social insurance contributions from the remuneration of members of temporary research teams. The authors propose to introduce special tax rules for research income from research activities, and consider these possible rules in detail. The theoretical framework of this article is based on the research of national and foreign scholars in the fields of taxation theory, taxation of individuals, and intellectual capital.