Yuzhanina criticises body cameras for tax officers: it’s a waste
15 August 2024 16:16
Recently, the head of the Tax Committee announced that tax officers conducting inspections, including actual ones, will be wearing body cameras. Nina Yuzhanina, a member of the Verkhovna Rada’s Finance Committee, considers this step a waste of money, as the body cameras can be simply switched off, negating their usefulness in the fight against corruption, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Hetmantsev, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Tax Policy Committee, said on his Telegram channel that tax officials conducting inspections, including actual ones, are likely to be wearing body cameras.
In his opinion, this will probably be one of the most effective measures in the fight against corruption on the ground.
“This is probably one of the most effective measures in the fight against corruption on the ground. It’s even funny. As if they can’t be turned off,” Yuzhanina said, emphasising the dubious effectiveness of such a decision.
The MP draws attention to the fact that body cameras are already used by police officers, and in 2023, customs officers began using them as part of a pilot project at Lviv Customs.
However, according to her, there are no statistics on how much corruption has been reduced by the cameras.
“But customs remains the most corrupt structure (according to surveys of business entities), and corruption scandals in this body do not subside,” the MP said.
Yuzhanina also reminded that “tax officials, like taxpayers, already have the right to make sound, photo and video recordings during inspections by any means that have the appropriate functions (as provided for by the Tax Code).”
“Isn’t this enough? Is it necessary to buy cameras for tax officers at public expense? Why didn’t they think about this when they made these changes to the Tax Code? Or is it just business as usual?” the MP added, questioning the need for additional spending.
“Or is this just another ‘insignificant’ expenditure at the expense of the state budget? How much longer will this wastefulness continue?” summed up Nina Yuzhanina.
Earlier , Yuzhanina expressed concern about the difficulties in the process of paying real estate tax. She claims that the ineffective work of the State Tax Service (STS) has made paying taxes a real quest.
Tax increases are coming soon: how much will you have to pay for cars and housing.
More news in the Kommersant Ukrainian telegram channel: https://t.me/komersant_ukrainskyi.
