Finance Minister: We should refrain from new tax cuts and review older ones
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Friday, December 25
According to the Minister of Finance Ivane Machavariani’s statement on December 24, a large part of tax cuts does not serve the purpose for which they were created initially. Machavariani said that in every situation, it is much more appropriate to help vulnerable social groups and to promote services for them than to come up with different types of cuts.
“I can give you many examples. In the previous parliament, there was a talk about liquefied natural gas, which is used in many regions and villages of the country. This happens because there is no natural gas available... However, if you count it, you will see that there is a 20 million cut from the budget. We are losing 20 million GEL,” said Machavariani.
He also added that in this type of situation, he agrees with the Business Association and those entrepreneurs who raised the issue, saying that taxation should be equated and that this cut does not serve its initial purpose anymore.
According to the Minister of Finance, the existing tax benefits should be reconsidered, and the government should refrain from imposing new benefits.
PM candidate Giorgi Gakharia also talked about the revision of tax benefits and cuts and the possibility of cancellation. Speaking at the session of the parliament, Gakharia said that in addition to tax benefits, tax agreements should also be revised.
Gakharia said that there are a lot of benefits in the tax system that are not effective anymore. He believes that the new government will need to consider in detail all of these benefits to strengthen them in some places, and in others, probably cancel them altogether.
Speaking about government programs, Gakharia said that the government's efforts would focus on the following four key areas: 1. Foreign policy, security, conflict resolution, and human rights; 2. Economic development; 3. Social policy and human capital development; 4. State governance.
Gakharia also said that the private sector is the main driving force for the country in the pandemic. He said that it should create and maintain new jobs. He also said that social responsibility is the key component of the private sector.
