Mykola Tomenko: An Acceptable Tax Code should follow other Principles: Taxes for Big Business should be raised first, with the Taxes for Small Business following
Asked about the adoption of a new Tax Code, Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, stated that the situation with its discussion was regrettable. He declared that although the ‘public discussion´ seemed to be ongoing, all the proposals and remarks seemed to be considered and the specialized parliamentary committee accepted numerous remarks amounting to one thousand, "entrepreneurs and the Administration of the President of Ukraine severely criticize this document, as their position has not been taken into account."
"If the President and businesspeople oppose the adoption, then what is the purpose of the Code? It might be better to suspend its scrutiny, bringing forward the budget for the next year", Mykola Tomenko suggested.
The Deputy Chairman recommended the Government: "To make small and medium business trust the authorities, take one step towards them: submit the bill on Denunciation of the Agreement between the Government of the USSR and the Republic of Cyprus on Prevention of Double Taxation of Income and Property of October 29, 1982."
The Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine announced that he had addressed Mykola Azarov, Prime Minister of Ukraine, with a request to settle the issue of illegal outflow of Ukrainian capital through the Republic of Cyprus. Mykola Tomenko reminded that the effective Agreement between the Government of the USSR and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus on Prevention of Double Taxation of Income and Property exempted any income transferred from one country to another from tax, except of certain cases of taxation of individuals or income of standing representative offices.
The response received by the Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine informs about the resumption of the negotiations with Cyprus concerning conclusion of the Convention between the Government of Ukraine and Government of the Republic of Cyprus on Prevention of Double Taxation of Income and Income Tax Evasion. It is also planned to hold the next stage of bilateral consultations in Kyiv in November. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers deems it unreasonable to submit the bill on denunciation of the mentioned Agreement.
The Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine believes that further development of events may lead to the situation similar to the one when the businesspeople organized a big meeting near the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine during the voting for the Tax Code.