The policy papers are the joint product of the German Advisory Group for Economic Reforms in Ukraine and the IER aimed at providing economic policy recommendations to Ukraine’s policy makers. The recommendations are based on the careful analysis of Ukraine’s situation, state-of-the-art economic theory, and best international practices. The papers are available for policy makers and – with some time lag – for general public.
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Credit bureaus are still a relatively new feature in Ukraine’s financial infrastructure. After a comprehensive legal framework for their operations was established in 2005, which is in line with relevant EU legislation, the first bureaus received their licences in 2007. Currently, there are seven credit bureaus operating in Ukraine.
The administrative cost of running a business can be quite significant. In the case of individual entrepreneurs such cost could become rather prohibitive, given the limited size of economic activity of average individual entrepreneurs. For this reason, most countries decided to adopt simplified systems of accounting and taxation for these economic agents.
Two years after Ukraine’s WTO accession in May 2008, policy makers have once again to take strategic decisions as to future trade policy of the country. It is hard to overestimate the importance of such decisions, since they do not only affect trade flows, but also the speed of structural reforms, an issue of practically same importance as trade itself.
The EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED), called to amend and subsequently repeal existing Biofuel and Renewable Electricity Directives, became effective from June 25, 2009. It specified new renewable energy targets and established binding sustainability criteria for certain types of biofuels. The biofuels and biomass that fail to meet the sustainability requirements are not counted towards new ambitious renewable energy targets and are excluded from the EU and national support programs.
The cost of paying corporate taxes is a major determinant of the business climate in any country. In the case of Ukraine corporate tax rates are not excessive, but the administrative burden of paying taxes is extremely high, due to a very complicated and inefficient tax accounting and reporting system.