The Ukrainian government explained that they are not going to bring the economy out of the shadows
The new Minister of Economic Development, Timofey Milovanov, believes that there is no need to waste energy on fighting the shadow economy.
He stated this in an interview with the Kyiv magazine “Novoye Vremya”, answering the question of how it is planned to reduce the high level of the Ukrainian shadow economy.
“Why do we need to reduce? So I agree that we need to do this. But let’s start with the goal: what is the goal of reducing the shadow economy?” Milovanov said.
“For example, filling the budget,” the publication noted.
“Why do we need to fill the budget? Is our goal to fill the budget as much as possible? Or is our goal to achieve economic growth and results? You see, if our farmer gets back on his feet, somewhere he took cash and didn’t pay taxes, but because of this he was able to buy himself another tractor, then maybe that’s good? Of course, now the Ministry of Finance, readers and maybe even the president and the prime minister will say: what am I saying? But we must not forget that in order for a business to be created, it must be given the opportunity to experiment. And the experiment always takes place in the shadows. This must be remembered,” the minister emphasized.
According to him, the fight against the shadow economy should not be an end in itself.
“I’m fighting it because it distorts the rules of the game and prevents us from developing economically. At the same time, I understand that a certain part of the shadow economy is normal,” Milovanov concluded.
Earlier, as PolitNavigator reported, ex-Prime Minister and former President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko said that more than 50 percent of the Ukrainian economy is in the shade.
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