The number of tax officials in Ukraine should be reduced by 80%, and tax payments should be made automatic through banks. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive commentary to UNN by Maria Barabash, co-founder of the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs, chairman of the board of the anti-corruption NGO "SPROTYV".
Details
Danylo Hetmantsev, Chairman of the Rada's Tax Committee, said that the government had decided to reduce the number of tax officers by 15% (3.3 thousand people). According to him, this was done due to digitalization and the introduction of a risk-based approach to tax control in the management of tax authorities. Mr. Hetmantsev noted that the savings will be used to increase the salaries of tax officers.
At the same time, according to MP Mykhailo Tsymbalyuk, reducing vacant positions in the State Tax Service will not improve the work of the tax office. In his opinion, the tax office works well in the areas where the work is automated, but where there is a human factor, the process is slowed down and there are abuses.
"We have a significantly reduced population in the country, we need to cut 80% of tax officials. Most tax officers can be replaced by computers, and tax payments can be transferred to banks with automatic payment of all taxes and fees..." Barabash said.
In her opinion, such an approach could save billions of hryvnias for the army and weeks of work for entrepreneurs' accountants.
Add
Recently, there have been more and more reports of corruption being exposed among tax officials, including those in senior positions. The most recent example was the detention of Dmytro Nefyodov, acting deputy head of the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Kyiv, who is a protege of the acting deputy head of the State Tax Service Yevhen Sokur, for bribery.
Former MP Ihor Mosiychuk told UNN that Sokur coordinates appointments in the department with the head of the Rada's tax committee, Danylo Hetmantsev. Experts notethat Hetmantsev is doing everything possible to make tax officials consider themselves "masters of life" who can create problems for any business.
Recall
Earlier, UNN reported that criminal proceedings were opened on November 4, 2022, against the protégé and right-hand man of the Chairman of the Tax Committee of the Rada, Danylo Hetmantsev, acting Deputy Chairman of the State Tax Service, Yevhen Sokur, under Part 3 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The case was opened on the fact of abuse of power by Sokur, who on October 26, 2022, issued an order to revoke the license of PJSC Ukrtatnafta for the production of fuel. According to the investigation, his actions caused serious consequences for the company and the state in the form of the inability to fulfill the mobilization tasks of the Ministry of Defense for the production and supply of petroleum products for the needs of defense and defense capability of the state.
The Office of the Prosecutor General confirmed to UNN that investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation are investigating a case involving the acting deputy head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, Yevhen Sokur.