During these events, experts presented objectives and specific measures to change state laws that have been passed within 100 days of the Parliament activity and discussed the ways of their effective implementation taking in account regional specifics. The main attention during the Lviv and Uzhhorod meetings was paid to achievements and gaps in tax, judicial, energy sector, and national memory policy reforms.

 

Recent government initiatives in the field of taxation and social security are not inherently reforms. Under the guise of reform, taxes - already aggravated - have been increased, responsibility for violation of labour laws introduced, rules that make it impossible to fulfill the legal requirements without breaking them adopted, making it even more complicated to do tax accounting, and spending on labour, financial, and time resources to account and declare taxes increased.

 

The expert of the "Tax Reform" RPR group, vice-president of the Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Yulia Drohovoz said: "Proposals of the Reanimation Package of Reforms are aimed at excluding the most odious norms of legislation adopted on 28 December 2014 and developing a working tax reform along with pension system reform to reduce the fiscal pressure, make fairer redistribution of taxes between taxpayers, and simplify tax accounting and declaration."

 

The discussion on reforms in the energy sector resonated widely in the regions. Andriy Zinchenko, manager of the "Reform of the Energy Sector" RPR group, co-founder of the Greencubator Ukrainian Network of Energy Innovations, shared his valuable insights on the issue. To his mind, the main problems of the energy sector are its opacity, overregulation, dominance of monopolies, and lack of state policy which would stimulate the introduction of effective measures in the budget and private sectors.

 

The steps to energy efficiency and conservation, which were offered by the RPR expert, include establishing a single state body in the field of energy efficiency and conservation; introducing energy managers in all local state bodies; banning the sale of energy without metering; changing the logic of the market subsidies - subsidies should be provided to the consumer; establishing a system of financial, administrative, and behavioural incentives; creating condominiums; launching the fund of modernization; forming clear and transparent tariffs; stimulating the reduction of energy consumption; achieving fuel substitution; looking for alternative sources of energy; developing competition in the market; and popularizing energy conservation.

 

"Thanks to the mass thermo-modernization, we can create thousands of jobs. We have millions of square meters of non-insulated housing. Solving problems of energy efficiency is very profitable. If you invest in modernization, the benefits will greatly exceed the investment," Andriy Zinchenko emphasized.

 

Next cities of the "On the Way of Reforms" RPR All-Ukrainian tour will be: Chernivtsi on 10-11 March, Ivano-Frankivsk on 12 March, and Ternopil on 13 March.