UJ.com

Top 2 

                        FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2024
Make Homepage /  Add Bookmark
Front Page
Nation
Business
Search
Subscription
Advertising
About us
Copyright
Contact
 

   Username:
   Password:


Registration

 
GISMETEO.RU
UJ Week
Top 1   

    
Nation    

Regions pitches tax cuts, investment help
Journal Staff Report

KIEV, Feb. 24 – The Regions Party, which plans to form a new governing coalition, suggests cutting taxes and encouraging investments as a means to catapult Ukraine to become one of 20 biggest economies in the world.

The Regions Party has invited all groups but the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc to join the coalition, and the talks are expected to accelerate after Viktor Yanukovych’s inauguration to the presidency on Thursday.

Yanukovych, the leader of the Regions Party, defeated Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the presidential election runoff on February 7, but Tymoshenko has refused to concede.

The Regions Party, which is backed by some of Ukraine’s wealthiest businessmen, including billionaires Rinat Akhmetov and Dmytro Firtash, accused Tymoshenko of leading the country into crisis.

Ukraine’s economy is thought to have contracted 15% on the year in 2009, one of the worst such indicators in the world, after the country’s steel sector had been hit hard by weakening external demand for steel.

“Massive modernization of national industry and introducing energy saving technologies, increasing productivity and using the investment-driven model of economy is aimed at Ukraine’s entering the list of 20 most economically developed countries of the world,” according to a draft coalition agreement.

The economy will be driven by “considerable improvement of investment climate through reducing tax burden and simplifying it, protection of ownership rights and reducing administrative pressure on businesses,” according to the draft.

Every group in Parliament has received a copy of the draft, except for the group led by Tymoshenko, which the Regions Party expects will be in opposition.

Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said he had received the draft, calling it “universal document” that is aimed at creating the coalition.

Analysts said the new coalition may consist of the Regions Party, the Lytvyn Bloc and Our Ukraine-People’s Self-defense.

Our Ukraine-People’s Self-defense, which controls 72 lawmakers in the 450-seat Parliament, has so far been split between those supporting outgoing President Viktor Yushchenko and Tymoshenko.

At least 37 Our Ukraine-People’s Self-defense lawmakers will have to support the coalition with the Regions Party in order for it to materialize.

Meanwhile, Our Ukraine, a pro-Western group, may be by lukewarm to plans by the Regions Party, a pro-Russian group, to approve a law that would bar the country from joining NATO military alliance. The Regions Party, however, called for “constructive cooperation” with NATO on all issues of mutual interest.

The draft also seeks to strengthen “strategic partnership between Ukraine and Russia and between Ukraine and the U.S. for “effective and mutual cooperation.” (tl/ez)




Log in

Print article E-mail article


Currencies (in hryvnias)
  28.03.2024 prev
USD 39.23 39.14
RUR 0.425 0.422
EUR 42.44 42.44

Stock Market
  27.03.2024 prev
PFTS 507.0 507.0
source: PFTS

OTHER NEWS

Ukrainian Journal   
Front PageNationBusinessEditorialFeatureAdvertisingSubscriptionAdvertisingSearchAbout usCopyrightContact
Copyright 2005 Ukrainian Journal. All rights reserved
Programmed by TAC webstudio