The competitiveness of a country’s tax system is instrumental in creating a favorable environment for foreign direct investment, stimulating business, and advancing societal well-being. Competition based on endogenous factors should not be perceived as unjust or unnatural.
The first steps of the long-awaited customs reform in Ukraine started in 2017 only to be cancelled at the beginning of 2018. Meanwhile, customs clearance in the country remains lengthy and complicated, which is reflected in Ukraine’s low positions in comparative international rankings.
Politicians should ask themselves if depriving citizens of their right to choose high quality reasonably priced services while putting private businesses at a competitive disadvantage is the path Lithuania should follow.
Lithuania has long been praised for its rankings in the categories of starting a business, registering property, and enforcing contracts, but it has also been criticized for a heavy administrative burden and red tape pervading the areas of dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, and paying taxes.
Business in Ukraine is slowly recovering from the economic crisis that hit the country several years ago. Entrepreneurs have little trust to the government but plan to speed up their growth and want the authorities to provide fair and favorable conditions for businesses.
The Ministry of Finance proposed to reform customs in Ukraine with the aim of better transparency and predictability. The model of the reform and changes in custom procedures is currently debated between the Ministry of Finance and the representatives of the Parliament and civil society. The reform will hopefully be implemented by the end of 2017.
There was an intense uproar this April, when the press figured out that Meszaros became the fifth wealthiest Hungarian, as he gained more than roughly 325 million euros just in a year. For comparison, he had around 25 million euros – in 2014, when he appeared on the list of the richest Hungarians for the first time.
Board remuneration regulation is essentially a two stage issue. Firstly, there should be transparency concerning the remuneration packages of executive and non-executive board member and directors. And secondly, shareholders should have a level of control over the process of board remuneration determination.
Many other Western entertainment producers have also found their new homes in Chinese industrial enterprises. The movie studio which produced the Dark Knight trilogy was bought by a real estate magnate from Beijing for $3.5 billion. Since 2015, up to 70% of acquisitions of gaming companies reportedly have a Chinese buyer.
In 2016, the costs attributed to operating a business in Ukraine have been lower than in a respective index in 2015. In particular, during the past year, Ukrainians spent on average UAH 27,412 for the purposes of compliance with the effective regulatory requirements.
