Increasing number of persons are satisfied with Tax Service’s work, TI-Moldova

The number of people who are satisfied with the work of the State Tax Service has increased during the last two years, shows a survey conducted by Transparency International Moldova (TI-Moldova), Info-Prim Neo reports. “The poll revealed that the Service made progress, but also faces difficulties in its work. 92% of the respondents were fully and partially satisfied with the way they were informed by the Service’s employees. Compared with 2008, the number of those who are satisfied with the quality of information increased,” TI-Moldova expert Ianina Spinei told a news conference on May 5. According to Ianina Spinei, the number of respondents who appreciated the professionalism of the Service’s employees as high increased, while of those who assessed it as low decreased. Among the main objections, the respondents enumerated the high prices of the electronic reporting services, which are inaccessible to small and medium-sized companies, inadequate promptness and errors made by the Service’s employees when introducing figures in the database, the bank mistakes that cause problems to the economic entities, etc. The recommendations made included simplifying the reporting system, extending the lists of reports presented in electronic format, increasing the volume of services through the Internet, reducing the prices of the electronic reporting services so as to make them more accessible. In the same news conference, TI-Moldova expert Efrim Obreja related the association’s opinions about the legislative initiatives on the Main Ethics Commission. “The draft regulations of the Main Ethics Commission limit the Commission’s duties to implementing policies on the conflicts of interest and declaration of incomes and properties, but the main task of ensuring the observance of the norms of conduct by public servants is omitted,” said Efrim Obreja. The proposals formulated by TI-Moldova on the draft regulations are aimed at ensuring the efficiency of the Main Ethics Commission and suggest modifying its main objective and excluding the stipulation that obliges the private individuals and legal entities to indicate the proofs on which the challenges to the Commission are based. TI-Moldova’s objections and proposals on the bill were submitted to the Government, Parliament, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Center for Combating Corruption and Economic Crime. They are also available on www.transparency.md. The activities of Transparency International Moldova are carried out within a project to monitor the implementation of the national strategy for preventing and combating corruption, which is financed by Soros Foundation Moldova and the Partnership for Transparency Fund.