He expressed this opinion after listening to a report by Vice Premier Alexander Zhukov, who read out the suggested measures designed to preclude unsubstantiated pressure on honest taxpayers. Mr. Putin said, "As for amending the law, we should act very carefully."
On the whole, the president has a positive view of the tax service's operation. "It is working rather effectively, especially of late," he said.
According to Mr. Zhukov, the collection of taxes has grown of late, with more taxpayers paying taxes honestly. "At the same time, our legislation still has norms that permit dual interpretation," he said. "This leads to a large number of disputes between the tax agencies and taxpayers."
He called for amending the tax legislation to preclude dual interpretation of the Tax Code provisions.
The authors of the report made several suggestions on improvements in this sphere. Alexander Zhukov believes that "the package of these measures will help us to improve the investment climate in Russia and strengthen trust in relations between business and the authorities."
