The Russian government is paying close attention to the issue of transparency and openness in the economy. Improving the country's investment climate will strengthen Russia's WTO bid, Zhukov said.
WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said Sunday it was highly unlikely that Russia and Ukraine would conclude all the talks necessary for WTO accession before the sixth ministerial meeting in Hong Kong this December and would, therefore, have to wait a little longer.
Zhukov said that 80% of foreign investors currently had a positive view of the investment climate in Russia, and foreign investment was up 30% this year. However, the government recognizes that there are major problems in this area - World Bank research suggests that the business environment in the country has significantly worsened in the last year.
The deputy prime minister cited insufficient ownership rights, the bankruptcy procedure, the transparency of court activity, the quality of state management, and the shadow economy as problems for Russia's investment case.
Zhukov said the Russian government would continue to implement prudent financial and tax policies and to proceed with tax reforms, in particular, lowering VAT and unifying the rate until the end of the year.
Zhukov said he hoped a law would be passed before the end of the year making the procedure for tax auditing more transparent.
