Pre-election political confrontations are not only hindering reforms in Ukraine, but also have a negative effect on the public's attitude to them, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Andriy Kliuyev has said.
While commenting on the results of a survey of business representatives, which was conducted by the European Business Association in the second quarter of 2012, he noted that in such circumstances, even reforms that would lead to positive results are at first seen as negative.
“In many areas, we simply rewrite the law anew, being guided by the best international standards and local practices. These aspects do not always mix well with each other. Moreover, given the peculiarities of Ukrainian realities, for example, corruption on the one hand and the business’s desire to deceive the state in order to maximize profits on the other, legislative changes are sometimes unintentionally aimed at strengthening state regulation. Even so, the goal was the opposite – to reduce pressure on the business and create the most competitive environment,” the press service of the National Security and Defense Council quoted Kliuyev as saying.
He said corruption was inherited from Soviet times and had almost rooted itself in the consciousness of the Ukrainian population, so it is difficult to remove it quickly. Several generations could be needed for that, Kliuyev said.
“We know that the sphere of taxation is one of the most problematic, and we are working on its improvement. A good example of the work on the simplification of legislation is the changes related to the expansion of groups of entrepreneurs – single tax payers. The adjustment period for this category of taxpayers has been extended until the end of this year, and no sanctions will be imposed on them,” Kliuyev said.
