Ukraine is cracking down on illegal gambling and logging and fraudulent gas stations in a bid to reduce the size of the country’s shadow economy.
Speaking at a meeting with the heads of the country’s 24 regions over the weekend, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said the year 2020 “will be the year of the uncloaking of the Ukrainian economy.”
He noted that in the last two weeks, police had shuttered 900 illicit gambling dens.
He said about half of the gas stations police inspected -- 707 -- were not paying fuel taxes.
A digital record of all cut timber is set to be placed in a centralized digital registry by February 1, Honcharuk said.
The Economic Development and Trade Ministry estimates that 33 percent of Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) is in the shadows.
Some economists say the figure is higher and makes up about 40 percent of the economy. In monetary terms, Ukraine’s economic output last year equaled $155 billion, Kyiv-based investment bank Dragon Capital estimates.
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
Surviving Russian Prisons And The 'Frightening' Food They Serve
2Mongolia, The Forgotten Soviet Satellite
3Georgia's Ruling Party Plays The Ukraine War Card
4Deadly Fire Erupts At Refinery In Iran's Khuzestan Province
5Ukraine Live Briefing: 'Massive' Drone Strike By Russia
6Threatening E-Mails Sent To Ukrainian Organizations After RFE/RL Investigation
7Kazakhstan's Teen Pregnancies Driven By Abuse, Lack Of Sex Education
8Zelenskiy Claims North Korea Sending Soldiers, Weapons To Russia
9Taliban To Impose Media Ban On Images Of Living Things
10EU Approves New Sanctions On Iran Over Missile Transfers To Russia
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.