The Ukrainian government are prepared to take the views of critics of a new tax code into account, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Monday.
The tax code was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament on Thursday as part of a national tax reform, but the Ukrainian opposition said it would contest it as a threat to small and medium sized business.
"We know that complaints by representatives of small and medium sized businesses, who operate under the so-called simplified tax code, are justified," Azarov said.
Currently small and medium-sized business play a flat tax of 200-600 hryvnyas ($20-75) a month, allowing them to avoid dealing with often corrupt tax officials. Under the new code, all businesses will have to file complex, itemized returns, regardless of their size, which the government says will bring the country extra revenue during economic slumps.
The opposition says the code provides for harsh sanctions for tax violations and grants preferences to big business.
Azarov said that although the government will take the complaints into account, it will not allow public protests on the issue that undermine the country's stability.
Representatives of many of the country's small and medium sized businesses have warned that if the president signs the tax code into law, they will launch a petition for a nationwide referendum on the termination of presidential powers and the dissolution of parliament.
RIA Novosti
