Due to additional tax and customs privileges the state budget receives over a quarter of its tax revenues less every year.
The First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ihor Kalyetnik said this.
According to him, the existing income tax privileges lead to the loss of UAH 20 billion from the budget over the three quarters.
“Even preliminary analysis testifies to the fact that the amount of funds not received by state is disproportionate to the effect of such preferences. Revision of income tax privileges should be held first of all. The Tax Code stipulated the decrease of this tax rate to 19 per cent from the beginning of the year. We should leave income tax privileges for priority branches of economy only, such as, for example, agriculture. They are also necessary to start a new business, at first stages of its opening; they are also needed by state enterprises which would become unprofitable without such preferences,” stressed the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.
He added that VAT tax privileges, excise tax and import tax privileges for 2012 amount to UAH 43 billion.
“The “zero” VAT for natural gas import is accountable for almost half of this amount. One and a half billion comprise the privileges for import of energy efficient equipment, as well as almost 7 billion – value added tax privileges for import of medications and medical equipment. Have the Ukrainian noticed the cheapening of medications? All these money are hypothetically accrued taxes that could have been collected to the budget and spent, for example, for procurement of medications for patients with cancer, tuberculosis, and cardiovascular diseases. These programs are underfinanced in the budget by half,” said Ihor Kalyetnik.
The First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada believes that tax privileges should be introduced temporarily and after their necessity is substantiated in detail.
“So far, the number of areas and the list of companies that have tax privileges is are regulated manually. They should be granted on the basis of strategic analysis, and for a certain time; and the Cabinet of Ministers should be responsible for that,” stressed the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada. Thereat he added that it is the Government who should conduct the annual monitoring of the efficiency of tax preferences.
“If we talk about privileges, we exempt from small taxes so that in some time we can receive the revenues that would surpass these small losses. In such case the policy would be effective. Otherwise – it is a way of discrimination and creation of unequal competitive conditions for business,” stressed Ihor Kalyetnik.