IMF Undertakes Preliminary Assessment Of Ukrainian Tax System

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

21 April 2009

Ukraine’s State Tax Administration and a delegation from the International Monetary Fund met on April 13 to discuss possible revisions to Ukraine’s tax system. The two bodies discussed improving the administration of taxes, Ukraine's domestic tax culture and combating tax evasion.

The IMF mission paid particular attention to the tax treatment of substantial taxpayers, the STA’s effort to simplify and modernize the tax system and to tax audits.

Underlining the State Tax Administration's sucessful reform to date, Deputy Head of the State Tax Administration said:

“The STA, for the last one and a half years, has revised procedures for the administration of taxes, attempted to improve the tax culture among the population, encourage the potential of tax employees, and investigated those evading tax payments, with significant positive results. Despite the economic difficulties suffered by the country, flows of taxes and dues still remain stable,” Serhii Lekar said, underlining that collected revenues continue to substantially surpass projections this year.

The IMF’s April mission is a precursor to one scheduled for June 2009, where it will provide in-depth analysis and suggest ways to improve the efficiency of the state tax service.

The IMF’s mission to the State Tax Administration was part of a larger mission led by Ceyla Pazarbasioglu between April 8-17 as part of Ukraine’s first review under the IMF’s Stand-By Arrangement.

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