Does IT need tax exemptions? Opinions of the opinion leaders of the branch
February 12, 2015
On 10th February an education IT-project GoIT with the support of Kyiv School of Economics gathered opinion leaders of IT industry to discuss the issue of the taxation of the IT sector at Kyiv School of Economics. Speakers:
Victor Galasiuk – head of the Verhovna Rada Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship Committee.
Roman Khmil – Executive Management of BrainBasket Foundation, formerly Operations Director of the company Ciklum.
Denys Dovgopolyy – specialist in the technology entrepreneurship.
Dmytro Lysytsky – CEO of the trading platform Allbiz, formerly CEO of UMH
Digital holding company which unites major Ukrainian web sites, cofounder of the company Source Valley.
The discussion was lively. Speakers’ opinions were diametrically opposite and the audience participated in the discussion to that extend that moderators – Eugen Sysoev and Konstantin Magaletsky – even had to remind that there were speakers in the room. The issue of the dividing the sector in three parts – outsourcing companies, product companies and subsidiaries of huge foreign companies as Intel, Cisco, and others – to secure them with a different tax burden was acute.
Victor Galasiuk and Denis Dovgopolyi opposed the remissions for the industry. They said that there were problems with higher priority in the country and that help should be provided only for those who really need it. To their opinion, IT is one of the most self-sufficient sectors, that is able to pay for itself and replenish state treasury.
Dmitry Lisitzky and Roman Khmil parry this with the fact that the most progressive branch is the one that should be given the green light for it to show the explosive growth and boost the economy of the country. Dmitry suggested preserving a status qou, legalizing the current working models of the companies, and bringing them out of the shadows.
I understand why all the politicians are against tax remissions for IT. Giving the remissions to the most unproblematic sector means hara-kiri in front of the public.
D. Lisitzky
Roman was adamant in his support of the preferential treatment of IT industry, as he believes that its growth is unlimited and that the average salary of a programmer may reach as well $5,000. Speaker was sure that there were no point in waiting for the sweeping reforms – IT needed to be stimulated starting today.
I am even annoying a little by those who say that everyone must be in the same conditions, or that you have to establish order in the courts and the traffic police first. IT is a potential that need to be realized. This branch can grow as much as 10 times. This is real, because we do not reinvent the wheel, but copy the experience of the countries that have already done it.
R. Khmil
Despite the fact that the participants’ points of view were diametrically opposite, everyone agreed with the opinion that the government should legalize the sector activity in the form in which it already functions, and take it out of the shadow. This way we will be able give impetus to the development of the industry, attract foreign investors and start the ball rolling to make Ukraine a strong IT-country.
The meeting was organized by the major educational project GoIT, whose main purpose is to create the brand of Ukraine as a strong IT country. Roundtable partners were: Kyiv School of Economics, Smartme, Brain Basket Foundatioan, DOU, Ain.ua and QA Club Kiev.