OREANDA-NEWS. On January 18, 2007 President Victor Yushchenko met with the head of the State Tax Administration of Ukraine Serhiy Buryak. During the meeting officials focused mainly on tax payment issues to the State budget, reported the Official website www.president.gov.ua.

President expressed his concerns about the situation with tax payments which, according to his sources, have fallen during 2007. Analyzing causes for that situation President pointed out few weak points in the STA work.

First of all V. Yushchenko indicated passiveness of the department in fighting schemes of tax payment avoiding by the unfair tax payers providing specific examples of such companies and charged STA to make their efforts more active.

President also criticized STA for low number of tax legislation modification incentives. Thus, for example was ignored National Security and Defense Council decision on settling such issues as simplification of VAT repayment procedures for fair tax payers, implementation of electronic monitoring of VAT calculation, introducing the category of budgetary VAT repayment debt and imposing fines on that debt, enhancing mechanisms of tax promissory notes use.

V. Yushchenko put a task before S. Buryak and his department to draft suggestions on tax legislation modification and present them along with their suggestions on 2008 budget modification. STA is to complete draft Tax Code of Ukraine so that it could be adopted in the first half of 2008.

During the meeting subject of VAT repayment received special attention. President stressed that tax departments often practice selective VAT repayment and it is based on regional basis. According to the statistics 76,5% of VAT was repaid in all Ukraine during 10 months of 2007. However misbalance is obvious as in some parts of Ukraine such as Donetsk, Chernivtsi, Cherkassy or Zaporizhyan region these numbers are substantially higher than in others exceeding 90%. V. Yushchenko stressed that practices of groundless VAT repayment delays are inadmissible especially in cases with strategic enterprises.

Also President said that he is unsatisfied with the fact that STA tries to conceal information on practical state of affairs regarding tax collection and VAT repayment. Therefore V. Yushchenko obliged S. Buryak to resume informing him properly on these activities and to call officials responsible for delaying that information to account.

Regarding the last President drew S. Buryak’s attention to inappropriateness of internal control within the system of tax collection authorities and to high level of corruption. Therefore he directed to conduct necessary internal check-ups and to immediately dismiss those STA officials who don’t observe the law beginning with the responsible regional tax administration heads.