“The draft law proposed by the Ministry of Finance is aimed to improve the tax administration and to reduce corruption”, business ombudsman Algirdas Shemeta

On September 28, Deputy Minister of Finance Yevgeniy Kapinus and advisor to the Ministry of Finance Yana Bugrimova had a meeting with business ombudsman Algirdas Shemeta and his deputy Tetyana Korotka to discuss the draft law on the improvement of the tax system.

The Ministry of Finance is finalizing the draft law jointly with MPs, the Council of the Business Ombudsman, public experts and business and is communicating actively with the public and business processing their critical remarks and proposals. The draft law is planned to be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers and to the Parliament soon.

The draft law is meant to improve the quality of the tax administration, i.e. the entire process of calculating and levying taxes as well as interaction between tax payers and the fiscal authorities. It is expected to reduce corruption and pressure on business by the SFS as well as to make life easier for business and to create proper conditions for business development.

During the meeting the business ombudsman pointed out that the draft law is being elaborated in a transparent way and that the Ministry of Finance has been engaging all interested parties including the Council of the Business Ombudsman. Algirdas Shemeta expressed his support to innovations in the draft law related to the VAT administration, electronic services etc.

“I expressly welcome the fact that most of the proposals of the Council of the Business Ombudsman regarding the tax administration have been respected in the draft law. I think that these amendments pose an important contribution to tackling corruption and creating favorable conditions for business development in Ukraine. However, a number of issues are still open which require the attention of the Government. Finding solutions to them would be a strong indicator for the improvement of the investment climate in Ukraine. One of such issues is the refund of the overpaid profit tax amount. We are ready to participate in the elaboration of proposals to settle this issue”.

Deputy Minister of Finance Yevgeniy Kapinus expressed his thanks for this input and his hopes that the Parliament will support the draft law.

“We wish the efforts of the Ministry of Finance, expert community, MPs and business to work out to make this draft law a real contributor to business development in Ukraine. We appreciate proposals and support provided by the Council of the Business Ombudsman and hope that our successful cooperation will continue”, Deputy Minister of Finance Yevgeniy Kapinus said.