Ukraine to trim budget deficit by UAH 5.5 bln to meet IMF calls

Ukraine plans to cut its 2009 budget deficit by UAH 5.5 bln in order to meet requirements set by the International Monetary Fund in line with the country’s UAH 16.4bln standby loan program, Acting Finance Minister Ihor Umanskiy said, according to Delo this morning. The Ukrainian government will furnish a plan this week to achieve this, ahead of the IMF board’s scheduled approval of the third USD 3.3 bln tranche. Delo said proposed measures include tightening customs controls and tax regulations, and limiting VAT reimbursements. Andrii Parkhomenko: We think that the Tax and Customs Administrations are capable of increasing payments to the budget by UAH 5.5 bln via increasing the taxation base, namely by taking a stricter stance on illegal importers; at the same time, bringing shadow businesses and trade more into the fold is a particularly tough task to realize in practice.