The moratorium on preferential taxation for business entities in the territory of priority development has still not been lifted.

Our newspaper has already written about what a difficult process of establishing a territory of priority development with a special regime of investment activity the mining city has gone through. Many obstacles were put in place by the old authorities, because otherwise the various restrictions that were adopted in relation to investors who came to the "zone" cannot be called anything else. At the beginning of the year, members of the government team again returned to the issue of TPD and FEZ — they began speaking aloud about the inexpediency and harmfulness of their existence for the state. The consequence was not long in coming: in the first quarter, amendments were made to the 2005 budget, from which articles with benefits and guarantees for investors were removed — benefits they had previously received not for one year, but for thirty. Everyone was cut, as they say, with the same comb, although only a few were at fault. And it is known that for each such individual city a separate decision was adopted, preceded by numerous approvals with many ministries and departments, and inspections by various regulatory bodies.

— Such changes should take place in a civilized manner. But what happens is this: one day a law is adopted, and the next day it no longer applies. That is, with one stroke of the pen many good intentions can be crossed out,— reflects Volodymyr Kovaliuk, executive director of the TPD at the Novovolynsk City Council. — If any amendments to legislation are adopted, they should apply to newly registered enterprises, not to those that began operating earlier under certain rules. Starting from the summer, there have been cases where customs officials refuse to grant benefits to those who have been working in the territory of priority development for more than a year. Enterprises have filed lawsuits against the customs service. In total, as became known, 63 lawsuits regarding the Novovolynsk TPD have been filed with courts of all levels.

Claims were also made against the city authorities, since agreements on tax benefits were signed locally. Mayor Viktor Sapozhnikov and his first deputy Volodymyr Rozheliuk were included in specially created commissions to study the activities of the TPD, which were headed by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her first deputy Anatolii Kinakh; they participated in their meetings and presented their position there. They informed the head of the council of the territory of priority development — first deputy head of the regional state administration Bohdan Shyba — about the mood of investors.

— Who will trust a state where laws change with every change of government,— said Eduard Matviichuk, deputy director of BRV-Ukraine LLC, with indignation. — This primarily damages the state's image, not to mention the significant economic losses that we bear, and along with us the city.

At the BRV-Ukraine enterprise, which is not embarrassing to show to any foreigner, cabinet furniture is produced. About 500 people work there. Construction is underway to expand production space. And, as Eduard Matviichuk said, instead of increasing the number of jobs to 700 as planned, they are forced to reduce their number. And this is because of the shortfall in funds that went to profit tax and import duty on equipment.

The enterprise Khan Elektrobau, created with the participation of German capital, is located on the production premises of the former central electrical workshops of RMZ, which were in a neglected state. Components for electronic equipment will be produced here. 80 people have already been hired, and they plan to bring the number of employees to 300. However, its owner Klaus Dieter Han, in response to a proposal to encourage his compatriots to invest money in Ukraine, said:

— But is it possible to work normally here if there is no stability and no stable rules of the game, when the legislative framework is constantly changing?

Currently in Novovolynsk, out of 23 registered projects, 15 remain. Agreements with some were terminated due to failure to fulfill their conditions; some, having become disillusioned, curtailed their activities themselves. The rest are working because they have invested considerable money. And still, there is a glimmer of hope that those at the top will listen to them and revise their decisions. Especially since the interdepartmental commission that worked in Novovolynsk to inspect the activities of the TPD, with the involvement of specialists from the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, and regulatory bodies, did not find any serious violations in its work.

The city has fairly good economic indicators. The average wage in September reached 794 hryvnias. Investments made in the city are yielding returns. But will an investor come here again if the situation toward him does not change? And what fate awaits Novovolynsk, which we still call a mining city? Although everyone knows well that all four operating mines, whose contribution to the city treasury is still insignificant, are already exhausting their reserves. The first coal enterprise is in line for closure. The tenth mine is still under construction, and every year money for it is literally fought for.

Not long ago, Economy Minister Arsen Yatseniuk announced an almost record figure for this year in foreign investment.

Unfortunately, in 2005 not a single new investor came to Novovolynsk. And those who are working complain about difficulties. For example, documents on the sale of land for three large enterprises — Khan Elektrobau, Kronospan-UA, and BRV-Ukraine — have been lying in the Cabinet of Ministers for approval for almost six months. As a result, four million hryvnias have still not reached the city's development budget...

Although much is said about foreign experience, we have not yet learned to use it. Because in Poland, which is our closest neighbor, fifteen economic zones operate. At the same time, it successfully joined the European Union. So why shouldn't we actually follow Poland's example? And as long as the rule of law does not prevail here, we will not win authority in the world, nor will we see the five million jobs in five years that the President spoke about.

Alla LISOVA