Deputies were warned that tobacco corporations were conspiring to defeat the Ministry of Finance's bill to increase excise taxes

Tobacco corporations have started a game aimed at defeating the Ministry of Finance bill 11090 on increasing excise taxes on tobacco products. Lobbyists' tools were used, such as legislative spam and attempts to drag legislators into an endless, fruitless discussion about minor details in the tobacco taxation system.

This was stated by Taras Zagorodny, managing partner of the National Anti-Crisis Group. He recalled that it was no longer possible to delay the adoption of the bill proposed by the Ministry of Finance, because we are talking about the immediate need to increase budget revenues to finance defense next year.

“During the consideration in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ministry of Finance bill aroused resistance from large tobacco corporations. While publicly they support…