“Spectrum” and the portal DELFI continue to publish reports in the framework of the project “Fragments”. This is the second report of the correspondent of “Spectrum” by M. Skoryk from the territories of the breakaway DND and LNR, which these days once again escalated military confrontation. In the first article entitled “how much in the Donbass. The accounts that pay residents of the DNI and LC” told how much and what kind of money you need for everyday life in the East of Ukraine, how much and how to make the people living there. In this article Mikhail Skorik tells how the economy and Finance of the breakaway territories of Donbass:
Taxation in the DNI, shall we say, different, and the Minister of taxes and levies of the self-proclaimed Republic Alexander Timofeev with the call sign “Tashkent” — the figure is extremely unpopular. Mainly because of the constantly changing tax laws. We came to Donetsk for the “bright period”: after numerous protests of small entrepreneurs returned the analogue of Ukrainian simplified taxation.
“Now I have no documentation, — says my hairdresser Tatiana. — Paying for a patent of 500 RUB (8 EUR) per month per person, and 600 rubles (9,50 EUR) to the pension Fund. Total 1100 (17,50 EUR) per employee in firms where less than 10 people”.
Previously, such companies demanded 2.5% of turnover, respectively, this turnover should be taken into account, to the appropriate journal, and a reviewer in the DNR are very strict. Local tax, police and other authorities were formed, based on the States pre-war regional level, with the aim of “liberation” throughout the Donetsk region. About the release to say continue, and inspectors and law enforcement officers several times more than you need for this site and barely alive business.
There is someone to catch and someone has to put for bribes. Middle and low level officials under the constant eye. I know the history of the doctor, a maxillofacial surgeon, who asked patients to buy the missing in the end of the month suture material and medicines for the operation, and relatives have called to the MGB. Republic kind of like the fake and the court is, but there is the doctor a period of 2.5 years in is not a fake colony in which feeding and even in comparison with Ukraine not.
Yes, doctor, summer, administrator of Donetsk Igor Martynov (mayors here are appointed by the head of the Republic Alexander Zakharchenko) arrested two deputies. One for extortion from businessmen, second for trade in its own network of pharmacies Russian drugs from humanitarian aid. Medications allegedly, before the sale was paid to urban hospitals. The fate of the deputies there is no information until now, and Martynov went on increasing now he zamestitel Zakharchenko on social issues. The self-declared Republic social — payment of the second financial flow after the military.
Entrepreneurs are divided into two groups. First to 10 working; the second over. About the effective simplified taxation from the first we have already told the hairdresser Tatiana and the second pays 6% of turnover. And then the whole sports — as the turnover to decrease and issue less employees officially. In the rest of the tax code completely, to the last detail, Ukrainian repeats until the monthly collection from all cafes and restaurants “for hop growing and viticulture”, which the DNR is not visible.
On the orders of Zakharchenko, the DNR, the tax authorities compel employers to “pay” the interest rate of 8 thousand rubles (130 euros) and contributions to make to the budget and the pension Fund with such salaries. Despite the fact that the list of vacancies at the employment center is replete with suggestions work for 2-3 thousand rubles (EUR 32-46), and in LC the whole scandal was caused by the vacancy of primary school teacher in Alchevsk with an income of 1 thousand 200 rubles a month (20 EUR).
Single story — internal customs!
“You know, living from the environment to the environment, — says Marina, the small entrepreneur sends the goods once a week in Lugansk. — All in an adult — foreign economic contracts and registered a couple of days to kill and go through debaltseve, through the Snow. There is no difference — if the car is less than a thousand euros — fee of 20 Euro from the machine. It is in DND. In the LC, luckily for us the duties are not invented!”
The terms “customs tax” change really often, and the profile of your business, together with the name Marina asked “not to Shine”. She is there to survive.
In the LC duties imposed not for Marina, and for reverse flow of products and restricted the lower limit duty-free. Now from Donetsk to Lugansk you can take duty-no more than three pounds of meat, 5 kg of butter or dairy products. And no more than 200 euros “excisable” goods in the form of vodka and cigarettes.
But big business in the DNR officially does not pay anything!
All largest metallurgical enterprises, mines, coke plants built in the famous production chain of Donbass “coal-coke-metal”, working in the Ukrainian legal framework and pay all taxes in Ukraine.
It seems incredible, but Ukrainian border city live with surplus budgets because, for example, the largest in the Luhansk region working company Alchevsk metallurgical plant is re-registered in the Ukrainian Starobelsk, and thus taxes on wages 14 000 of its employees pays in the city budget of Starobelsk. Metallurgical plants Akhmetov was also in Mariupol. And the second after Donetsk metallurgical plant prewar taxpayer with wages in the city budget of FC “Shakhtar” — now lives in Kiev and plays in Lviv and is now paying taxes.
All employees of such mines, factories, Railways, Zuevskaya thermal power plant receive their salaries in local currency on the card Ukrainian Bank. Hundreds of thousands of people, only on the Donetsk railroad on the uncontrolled territory of Ukraine worked on the January 2016 26 000 people by the end of the year 17 thousand. They can add and about one million pensioners who got their pensions on the cards of Ukrainian banks.
The banks themselves, as well as ATMs in the self-proclaimed republics are not. Who can, goes to cash out the cards on the Kiev-controlled territory or, less often, the card pays for purchases in stores of the neighbouring Rostov region of the Russian Federation. Others use the services of a new blossoming business in the LC and the DNI — obnalichivanii offices. Here is out put and cash out amounts any cards of Russian or Ukrainian banks. Floating rates — there were times when they took for services to 25%. Now specifically asked at your nearest branch — any services over 5% of the amount!
Why? Large enterprises type of yenakiieve steel, Khartsyzsk pipe, Alchevsk iron and steel work for export, and exports to Europe can only be legitimate, and hence Ukrainian. Shut the factories, collapse the entire company towns; take them from the rightful owners — collapse distribution, and raw materials smart management company brings a few days of work. On this issue beating the best minds of Russian curators, and some successes along the way they achieved.
Tell that two of the largest candy factory in Donetsk work “in the lease” and therefore “tenants”, not the owners pay taxes to the DNR.
And, for example, electricity is then supplied holding DTEK Rinat Akhmetov, and to accept rubles on their accounts and to pay taxes to the DNR, he could not, not to “Finance terrorism”. Year electricity was not paid, the bills came, the debts grew, management sought a solution or waiting for the “resolution of the situation.” From autumn 2015 the charge for electricity was to collect firm-laying, working in the legal field of the DNI, through the national Bank of the DPR in rubles. As unearthed Ukrainian journalists from the site “4 power” with this company DTEK is the contract.
But in principle, I could not unearth, all transactions in the area of ATO consecrated by the special decision of the Ukrainian government. Industrial Donbass is a single organism which is impossible to break. For example, the industry in these steppes was able to turn around just after the launch of the channel the Seversky Donets — Donbass, which goes from the North region to the South, overcoming to Donetsk three climbs with the special pumping stations, in the course of the branching conduits. That is the Ukrainian water goes first through Slavyansk and Kramatorsk and then passes through the controlled self-proclaimed republics in place, then begins to feed South Volnovakha and Mariupol. The center of the company “Water of Donbass” are still in Donetsk and in the Ukrainian Slavyansk, for example, severe shortages of water, because the leadership of the Donetsk gives him a due share because of the numerous breakthroughs of the channel in a combat zone under “gnarovskoy” Gorlovka. In Donetsk there are fountains, and Mariupol saved water from Stary reservoir and signed a contract with the Americans for the construction of the desalination plant of sea water.
The same can be said about the power grid, supplying a unique anthracite coal in local thermal power plant and the railway. For the supply of coal, for example, has been working steadily branch Yasinovataya — Skotovataya, across the front line trains driven by diesel-electric locomotives (electric wire broken) and the drivers give beeps on which the mortars in time to stop shooting. And such Railways in the ATO zone five.
In Lugansk the electricity is supplied from a suburban town Happiness of the local major power plants. Happiness Ukrainian army in the city there were constant fights, and coal was mined there in the mines “krasnodoncoal” LPR-controlled territories. One time to get around quite a hot war, the anthracite imported a detour through Russian territory.
If you look at the map, realize that the self-proclaimed Republic is a very viable education in the conditions of war and the Ukrainian army acted in 2014 quite sighted. For example, Ukrainians remained the largest gas hub for distributing Russian gas, artillery APU is on the outskirts of the largest industrial centers, Donetsk, Lugansk, Gorlovka, Dokuchaevsk. Virtually surrounds the largest hub stations Yasynuvata, debaltseve, and it may push one to dissect the LC and the DNI on the arc Svetlodarsk or to cut off Gorlovka from Donetsk under Yasinovataya. Fired under the control of the APU is the largest automotive Yasinovatskiy fork, which dramatically complicated the supply of the garrison Gorlovka and the connectivity of Yenakiyevo Donetsk and Lugansk. Well, about the explosive launch of the largest chemical concern “Stirol” in Gorlovka needless to say — the Ukrainian military are in a few kilometers — in zaytsevo, in the village before the war were included with the submission of the Gorlovsky city Council.
In turn, part of two army corps of the LC and the DNI are dangerously close to three major Ukrainian thermal power plants in Kurakhovo, Uglegorsk and Happiness. If desired, thermal power plant are available not only for 122 mm howitzers, but sometimes and for 120 mm mortars.
Now the situation is explosive. Ukraine strongly required to adhere to the card of differentiation, adopted in Minsk on 19 September 2014. And on this map is “Ukrainian” are taken later in the winter 2015 “under the DNI” debaltseve, Dokuchaevsk and a dozen villages near Mariupol. Military operations in these areas, the APU is not considered a violation of the Minsk agreements and the recent aggravation around Avdeevka out of here.
But these cities or not in the LC and the DNI virtually no tax base. When large-scale industry, working on Ukraine (in the public domain is the numbers that industrial enterprises DNR give 52% of the taxes of the Ukrainian Donetsk region, and LNR — 86% of the customs revenues of Lugansk).
Therefore, the share of Russian subventions to the local budgets of civilian experts was estimated at 82%. It should be understood that recently the Russians have reduced funding by 30%, requiring to find money on the ground. The numbers of local budgets — most carefully guarded military secret, along with the casualty figures at the front. And their content taken extraordinary measures.
For example, last summer, the DNR and LNR adopted the law on the nationalization of all markets, and in August seized from the owners of the latter. Under the confiscation of caught objects and the former owners of the life of the Party of regions, now in hiding in Crimea, and entrepreneurs, who strongly supported the “Russian spring” and remained in place. In Donetsk, adopted on 24 June but has not announced the law on nationalization. In Donetsk it seems not and the existence of the law in the talks in Minsk the Russians and the representatives of the republics deny. But in July seized under this act from the Russian company “Mechel” Donetsk electrometallurgical plant. The enterprise was in 2013, now its going to start in three months and “in agreement with the old owners” to sell products. The court in February 2017, and newsworthy around the plant are increasing, but whether he will begin to give products, ever — is unknown.
Introduced state management at machine-building plants in Gorlovka and Donetsk. All this under the banner of the seizure of “abandoned and broken” of the property. Latest feat — “spin” the Ukrainian owners of the plant “Silur” in Khartsyzsk. Plant mid-September to produce metal wire and metal products in November followed by a “closed” decree on the introduction of the enterprise temporary state administration. The CEO of Odessa issued a series of video messages to employees. First, it was called in the occupied factory, and then resignedly asked under threat of criminal cases not to participate personally in the cut on the scrap equipment.
The charges in the cut really hurt the local Ministry of industry and trade of the DNI.
Mobile operators in Ukraine three, and two of them continue to work in the DNR. And equipment third successfully “overcome” and built a local operator “Phoenix”. While these phones can only call, but the local Ministry of communications promises in the coming weeks, start mobile Internet.
And constantly there is pressure on Rinat Akhmetov and other business owners chain of Donbass. In summer almost all the “former” was denied entry to the DNR. In the National Council of the unrecognized territory in the first reading voted for the bill on the confiscation of enterprises paying taxes “States that conduct an aggressive war against the DNR.”
The creeping confiscation of any premises and small assets is constant.
Or just a change of owners and then create some specific local businesses. And not specific.
After the recent shelling of Donetsk all the networks circled the videos from the corrupted store “Table and Chair” at the Miner’s area of Donetsk. This is one of the most iconic places in the city, there stands the symbol of Donetsk — a monument to the miner with a piece of charcoal in hand. Before the war in which he was clothed in a shirt, and a t-shirt of Shakhtar Donetsk. And the store “donchanka” (now “Table and Chair”) was one of the most famous in the city.
In the night of February 3 in the roof of the shop came round. It is not interesting, and the fact that he has damaged the “fresh” shop. The tenant has rented it in 2016, completed the restoration and sold Russian goods until the last day. So there are in Donetsk optimists who invested in new business and believe that these investments will pay off.
Although the majority still support life in the old businesses and shops in the hope to endure without destruction of buildings, “spin” and seizures to better times.
