Ukraine is copying Russia’s worst economic decisions, says Novak
14 April 16:16
The Ukrainian government’s latest economic initiatives are causing serious concern, as they increasingly mirror policies that have already been implemented in Russia. Specifically, this refers to tax hikes and the elimination of tax breaks for businesses. Economist Andriy Novak made these remarks in an interview with the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian".
“I’ve already said that I’m very concerned, to put it mildly, that our economic initiatives for some reason completely mirror what has already been implemented in Russia… Why, even though the war has been going on for five years now, are we still mimicking, like a monkey, what has already been done in Russia?” he says.
According to the economist, examples of such repetition can already be seen in the Ukrainian government’s tax policy.
“What did Russia introduce on January 1 of this year? A 2% increase in VAT. What is our initiative? To raise VAT by the same 2%. What else did Russia do? It eliminated tax breaks for sole proprietors. What is our initiative? To eliminate tax breaks for sole proprietors as well,” he gave as an example.
Novak emphasizes that this trend is not new and has been evident for many years.
“This has been happening practically every year since our country gained independence. As soon as Russia does something, we just copy the exact same thing. We have no original ideas, no independent understanding, no sovereign state, and no independent economic system,” he added.
At the same time, the expert believes that what is particularly dangerous is that it is precisely the worst economic practices that are being adopted.
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“And they’re copying all the worst aspects. Whatever the worst economic practices are in Russia, we’re mimicking them like monkeys,” he says.
According to Novak, such a policy may not be accidental and poses a risk to the country’s economic security.
“This is no longer just a suspicion for me; I am now certain that these are deliberate actions. And who could take deliberate actions to the detriment of their own country? Only agents,” says Novak.
The economist concludes: Ukraine needs to formulate its own economic policy focused on business development and support, rather than copying the decisions of the aggressor country, especially during wartime.
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