Danylo Hetmantsev, chairman of the Rada's tax committee, has publicly criticized judges on several occasions and directly or indirectly tried to induce them to make certain decisions. This behavior of the MP looks not just strange, but like an outright warning to the judiciary to consider future disputes in which the MP is interested, UNN writes.
Experts interviewed by UNN have repeatedly pointed out that Hetmantsev has a great influence on the tax service. This supervision has long gone beyond his powers as chairman of the Rada's tax committee. Through his proteges, including acting Deputy Head of the State Tax Service Yevhen Sokur, Hetmantsev solves almost all major issues in the State Tax Service that involve pressure on business. This includes appointing inspections of entrepreneurs, blocking their work through tax invoices, the so-called fight against shadow alcohol and cigarettes, and much more.
Its zeal has increased recently, as the situation with blocking the work of business has escalated. In particular, Anna Derevyanko, Executive Director of the European Business Association, told UNN that the organization has been recording an increase in reports from member companies about cases of blocking tax invoices that may be related to attempts to put pressure on business.
"And, unfortunately, we are not seeing any effective actions to combat corruption or abuse of power," she said.
Accountants also say that a new wave of tax invoice blocking has begun in Ukraine.
It is clear that increasing pressure on business leads to an increase in its resistance, i.e. an increase in the number of complaints against illegal actions of tax authorities in courts.
According to business ombudsman Roman Vashchuk , the tax authorities currently lose two-thirds to 90% of cases in courts.
By his behavior, Hetmantsev demonstrates that he is not satisfied with this situation. Using the example of other cases, he makes it clear to judges considering business complaints against tax authorities that they may be next.
In particular, in his Telegram channel , the head of the tax committee openly mocks [6] [7] judge Vitaliy Tsyktych of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv. Moreover, Hetmantsev indicates what decision the court should make and calls on others to put pressure on the judge.
By the way, Tsiktich reported to the High Council of Justice and Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin about the pressure on him from Hetmantsev and the MP's attempts to interfere with the court's activities.
However, this did not stop the head of the tax committee. On the same day that it became known about Judge Tsyktych's complaints, Hetmantsev again criticized the court's decision. This time, he targeted the Dnipropetrovs'k District Administrative Court, namely Judge Stanislav Zlatin. He was a member of the panel of judges that considered the lawsuit filed by Concord Bank against the NBU and recognized the decision of the regulator's board to revoke the bank's license and liquidate the financial institution as illegal.
It is worth noting that Hetmantsev has long demonstrated his interest in the liquidation of Concord Bank. Earlier, during a meeting of the Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, Hetmantsev publicly stated that the bank's owners were "not Ukrainians"and gave direct instructions to law enforcement to pursue them.
Nina Yuzhanina, a member of the Rada's Tax Committee, is convinced that her colleague's behavior sends alarming signals to society.
"I think that this permissiveness, which started with elementary things, has now reached the point where he can afford to threaten judges. When have there been such cases in the history of Ukraine? Never. The whole tendency is that the state system is not recognized by this team, and it is becoming more and more visible. And it even comes to this. If now law enforcement agencies do not do work to influence judges as a separate branch of government, then in general we will have a country exclusively in a totalitarian regime and with the power of only a few managers, which may include Mr. Hetmantsev," Yuzhanina said in a comment to UNN.
She added that the tax authorities mostly write audit reports, hoping that the entrepreneur will not challenge them. However, as soon as a taxpayer starts a court appeal, the tax authorities mostly lose.
At the same time, she said, the courts are now increasingly siding with the tax authorities in disputes with businesses. "This is a new trend that did not exist before," Yuzhanina said.