Government proposes to establish Financial Investigation Service and consider possibility of tax compromise

The Cabinet of Ministers proposes to establish a single state service for financial investigation and is considering the possibility of tax compromise for those entrepreneurs who were forced to be a part of the schemes of the previous government. This was started by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk during an Hour of questions to the Government in the Parliament Friday, April 18.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that the Government has drafted a law on the establishment of financial investigations service: "The purpose of adoption of this law - to from seven regulatory bodies to do the only service that will be eligible to check economic and financial affairs of an entrepreneur."

Thus the Government proposes to withdraw appropriate powers "from the Interior Ministry, which has the department for combating economic crimes, the Security Service of Ukraine, which has the Department for combating counterintelligence activities in the economy", "neither these nor other institutions have no relation to entrepreneurship. These departments are “born” to take a bribe from entrepreneurship," the Prime Minister said.

As Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted there is the experience of creation of the single state service for financial investigation in the West, in particular in the U.S.A.

According to him, the service has to conduct the control first of all without off-site checks: “Off-site control must be only if there are differences according to data of financial statistical reporting.”  

"Today we are able to control all payments due to the so-called fifth addition to VAT, there is the information network. We will be able to control excisable goods, if we introduce an electronic excise stamp. And we can reduce the number of test subjects, which now reach tens to one institution," he said.

The Prime Minister also said that on his order which was given after the EBA’s appeal, the tax militia closed 700 criminal cases, the aim of which was not to investigate financial offenses, but to take away business. Head of the tax militia reported specifically on each case.

He said that the tax militia should carry on a dialogue with business, "Me as the Prime Minister can guarantee - as soon as I get a message that tax militia begin to harm businesses I will immediately take organizational and administrative decisions."

As Mr. A. Yatsenyuk recalled, now the tax militia is investigating the cases of a businessman Kurchenko, in this case UAH 700 million have already been arrested. There are also cases concerning abuse, theft of real state budget and tax underpayments, which are being investigated.

Prime Minister is considering the possibility and plans to discus with MPs issues concerning the decision on those entrepreneurs "that were forced to be a part of the scheme of the Family. We do not exclude that the Parliament will have to decide on additional compromise between entrepreneurs and the state," he said.

"Someone names it amnesty; I name it a tax compromise. In order to let people know – we turn the page. They paid for it, I repeat they paid to the state and they will not be pursued," A.Yatsenyuk said.