The Office of Large Taxpayers has reported on the reduction of tax debt by UAH 6.8 billion or 32.8% since early 2018, to UAH 13.9 billion as of March 1, 2018, the office has reported on its website.
“Since early 2018, the debt was cut thanks to an action plan implemented, as well as cooperation with the Individuals’ Deposit Guarantee Fund, while, for example, year-over-year the tax debt grew by UAH 3.3 billion,” the office said.
The major part of the debt is tax debts of bankrupts, banks under liquidation or enterprises in the military operations zone in Donbas, amounting to UAH 7.5 billion.
Some UAH 6.4 billion is the debt that could be collected, the office said.
The volume of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Ukraine in 2017 increased by 37%, to $1.023 billion, their total number by 22%, to 67, such data are given in the report on the website of KPMG in Ukraine. The most active foreign investors in Ukraine in 2017 were companies from the CIS, North America and Europe. At the same time, investors registered in the CIS focused primarily on acquiring assets from Ukrainian owners in Crimea.
According to KPMG, the level of activity in the M&A area remains far from the 2013 level. In addition, the volume of mergers and acquisitions in 2017 amounted to approximately 1% of Ukraine’s GDP, which is four times less than the global level.
At the same time, the company expects further growth in the number and volume of transactions in 2018. KPMG explains its expectations with the steadily growing volume of foreign direct investment since 2014 and the increase in the number of deals in the agricultural sector against the backdrop of increased crop yields and a high export potential of the industry.
Further growth of activity in M&A is also reflected in the increased interest of Dragon Capital investment company in commercial and logistics real estate on the background of favorable market conditions and the expected high return on investment with relatively low investment risks. The interest of foreigners in the IT sector remains high because of the export orientation of the industry and its low sensitivity to local trends.
British-based Cadogan Petroleum Plc, which owns assets in Ukraine, after overhauls and stimulating the Blazh-3 well at the Monastyretska deposit (Lviv region), increased production by 2.8 times, to 125 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), the company said on the website of the London Stock Exchange. “As a result of the work carried out, Cadogan’s total production exceeded 300 barrels (of which Cadogan’s net share is 290 boepd),” the company said. Earlier, Cadogan successfully performed repairs and stimulation at the Blazh-1 well.
As reported, Cadogan in 2017 increased its average daily production of hydrocarbons by 34%, to 167 boepd (of which Cadogan’s net share was 155 boepd), and by the end of the year production reached 190 boepd (Cadogan’s net share is 176 boepd).
Major growth in production was provided by the Monastyretska field, at which wells were overhauled, previously shut-in wells were restarted.
Cadogan develops deposits in Eastern and Western Ukraine. The Monastyretska deposit is located in Lviv region. Oil produced there has a low content of gas and water, is processed on the site and supplied to customers by road.
Osnova Party leader Serhiy Taruta has proposed creating a national innovation agency for technical and consultative support of startups so that Ukraine could make a rapid innovation jump and enter the list of the world’s 30 most economically developed countries before 2030, Taruta’s press service has reported. Speaking at parliamentary hearings “The national innovation system: the state and legislative support for development,” he noted that Ukraine ranked 50th in the Global Innovation Index 2017, but has every reason to reach the top 30 by attracting investment and developing innovation.
According to Taruta, human capital is of key importance for achieving the goals, and the national innovation system itself must develop in several key areas. “We need to accumulate intellectual capital. We need to understand what kind of professions of the future we need today. Only systemic monitoring and forecasting of technology development in line with the latest global methods, such as foresight, can give us this answer. This is the task for our Education and Science Ministry. The systemic development of the national foresight of Ukraine’s economy is the number one task for the government,” Taruta said.
In addition, according to him, it is necessary to stimulate the domestic innovation market, in particular, to implement the state program for micro-crediting to innovative clusters “Science-Business-Education.” To implement this program, it is necessary to create a Bank for Innovation and Development, which can become a pilot project for the implementation of such a public-private partnership.
According to Taruta, another necessary condition for innovative development of Ukraine is the creation of clusters of technological entrepreneurship, which will appear as a result of the microcredit program. “In order to provide technical support and consultative support, I propose creating a National Innovation Agency, which has exclusively the service functions to facilitate the protection of intellectual property and increase patent activity. Thus, at the state level, we will create all the necessary prerequisites for an innovative jump in Ukraine,” he said.
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin and Finance Minister of Qatar Ali Shareef Al-Emadi have signed an agreement on avoiding double taxation and preventing income tax evasion between the government of Ukraine and Qatar. According to a Thursday posting on the website of the Finance Ministry of Ukraine, avoiding double taxation of individual and company income will be achieved thanks to the distribution of the taxation right for some types of income between Ukraine and Qatar and thanks to taking into account payment of taxes in one country by a taxpayer in his or her tax obligations of another state.
The ministry said that the agreement envisages taxation of dividends at 5% if the ultimate owner of dividends is a company that owns at least 10% of the company that pays dividends and 10% for the rest of the cases.
Royalty rate is set at 5% and 10% and the same rates are approved for taxation of interest. The ministry said that Ukraine and Qatar are to finish internal procedures required for the ratification of the agreement.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed the bill amending some Ukrainian laws in the sphere of construction and exploitation of roads passed by the Verkhovna Rada on February 27, 2018. “The implementation of the bill will help to create conditions for attracting investment for construction and exploitation of concession roads,” the press service of the head of state reported on Thursday. This law provides for amendments to the laws of Ukraine on concessions, on concessions for the construction and operation of highways, on roads, on sources of financing of the road economy of Ukraine, on selling land parcels and other real estate facilities located on them, privately owned, for public needs or for reasons of social necessity aimed at improving the legislative regulation of construction and operation of motor roads of general use on a concession basis. The law comes into force on the day following the day of its publication.
As reported, According to the explanatory note to the document, concession roads are roads of higher quality, which meet high standards, since the main thing for the users of these roads will be the quality and speed of traffic. These roads are built to cut and straighten the route bypassing populated areas and connect the two towns directly, reducing the route by 50-100 km, resulting in a reduction in fuel costs and time savings.
Meanwhile, the law of Ukraine on concessions for the construction and operation of roads indicates that the decision on the construction and/or operation of roads on concession terms is taken by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on the basis of a feasibility study, but it is not determined what exactly should be mentioned in this decision. In addition, the law does not provide for the concessionaire to compensate for failure to reach the actual traffic intensity and when income is not received.
“It is also worth noting that the mechanism for allocating land for the construction, operation and maintenance of highways has not been clearly regulated,” the explanatory note stated.
Thus, the bill in particular provides: roads of general use of state importance can be transferred for the construction and operation on concession terms; after making a decision on the construction and operation of highways that can be provided for concession, the executive authorities are prohibited from taking any actions with land parcels foreseen for the construction and operation of these highways for use and/or ownership of citizens or legal entities.
According to the document, the decision on holding a concession tender is taken by the Ukrainian government, which, inter alia, specifies the technical parameters of the highway, the basic financial indicators for granting the road to the concession, the deadline for which the concession is granted, the maximum amount of compensation to the concessionaire and the alternative route which can be taken free of charge.
The Cabinet of Ministers also determines the largest amount of a flat toll for using motor roads built on the terms of concession, which is paid taking into account the level of inflation and the conditions under which the concession award is made to the concessionaire.
Concession payments are sent to the national budget of Ukraine.
