Tax Code of the Government of Mykola Azarov

November 21, 2010, Kyiv.

On video: protest rally against the Tax Code; Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, deputies throw documents in the hall during discussion of amendments to the law; protests in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Vinnytsia, various plans, slogans; blitz poll of high-ranking officials on the reasons for the negative reaction of entrepreneurs.

Comments: Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov; Head of the International Blazer Fund Oleg Kostenko; Deputy Head of the State Tax Administration of Ukraine Serhiy Lekar; Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Tetyana Yefymenko; People's Deputy, Head of the Party of Regions faction Oleksandr Yefremov.

Reference: The 2010 Tax Code of the government of Mykola Azarov declared a simplification of the taxation system: reducing the number of state taxes, introducing tax holidays for small and medium-sized businesses, introducing a real estate tax, and redistributing finances in favor of local budgets. The government presented these changes as a structural reform and a step towards a "civilized" business climate, but entrepreneurs and small businesses reacted with sharp dissatisfaction due to the threat of increased control, inspections, and loss of the right to work on a single tax. The Code was also criticized for being prepared in a closed mode and an attempt to adopt the document without sufficient public discussion.