New Head of the State Tax Service should change approaches to working with business - European Business Association

The European Business Association expressed hope that the new head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko will initiate qualitative changes in the relationship between business and the tax system. EBA Executive Director Anna Derevyanko in an exclusive commentary to UNN emphasized the importance of cooperation that will ensure the development of the country's economy.

Among the expectations from the work of the new head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, I would like to note the need to create a fair partnership between business and the controlling body

She noted that an important step is to review performance indicators at all levels of the tax system. In particular, she drew attention to the inadmissibility of such practices as massive information requests, blocking of tax invoices and negligent consideration of explanations provided by taxpayers.

"It is unacceptable to continue the practice of bombarding businesses with information requests that require a huge number of documents for documentary verification, as well as blocking tax invoices and negligent consideration of companies' explanations," emphasized the EBA Executive Director.

According to Derevyanko, the actions of the tax service should not hinder the functioning of the economy by blocking honest business. She noted that the successful operation of business directly affects the country's budget, which is used to protect the state and finance important social programs.

"I would like to remind you that we have common interests: successful and fair business operations, competent government agencies, and logical and clear rules and their impartial application. The culture of communication between tax authorities and business should be based on the principles of competence, fairness and goodwill," summarized the EBA Executive Director.

Recall

Ruslan Kravchenko, the newly appointed head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, held a meeting with the heads of regional tax offices to outline new priorities for the service. The main task will be to stop unjustified blocking of invoices and support responsible business.

Add

Blocking of tax invoices is one of the main problems that Ukrainian entrepreneurs complain about in the field of tax administration. In general, according to the Business Ombudsman Council's statistics, in the third quarter of 2023, 57% of complaints from business representatives concerned tax issues. As noted by Business Ombudsman Roman Vashchuk, the problem for businesses is not even the level of taxes, but the style of administration. He also added that the tax and customs authorities lose 90-94% of their cases in courts, either in the first instance or on appeal to the Supreme Court.