KYIV. June 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE) insists on a balanced approach towards revoking tax benefits for farmers and on drawing up alternative options to support agriculture.
“The government should draw up alternative options to support agriculture and synchronously hold talks with the IMF on mitigation of the conditions of cooperation with the fund,” reads a ULIE report, citing League Chairman Anatoliy Kinakh.
He said the government has not offered any alternative ideas on improving the development of agriculture, while state support of agriculture in Ukraine totals dozens of times less than what farmers in the EU receive.
Kinakh said that the alternative to tax benefits, specifically targeted subsidies for farmers, is complicated, as firstly the system should be drawn up and formalized in legislation.
“Then the issue of distribution of subsidies will arouse, and the human factor will play a large role and corruption risks will appear. It is hard to calculate how much money would really go to farmers,” he said.
