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Ukrainian Crisis is about Taxes
American Thinker ^ | May 9. 2014 | Chriss Street

Posted on 05/09/2014 4:04:00 AM PDT by Rashputin

The bloody crisis between the pro-Western two thirds of Ukraine and pro-Russian third of the country is about taxes. The recent $17 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan required Ukraine on May 1st to raise taxes and increase natural gas prices by 50%. With about 58% of the Ukraine’s industry in the eastern zone and workers there making about 50% higher wages, the east is paying the majority of the tax increase. Although residential users will not feel pain from the natural gas price increase until fall, eastern heavy industry is feeling the pain immediately. With the corrupt west raising taxes for the IMF, why is there any surprise the east is rebelling?

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: agitprop; coup; economy; imf; irs; obama; putin; putinsbuttboys; russia; surrendermonkeys; taxburden; taxes; ukraine
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To: Rashputin

1) Donbas is in an uproar, not Eastern Ukraine. Kharkiv at the moment seems to be contained, Zaporizhia quiet, Dnipropetrovsk as Ukrainian as Kiev and Lviv. Donbas, the most depressed part of the country survives on subsidies. One of the reason it’s in the uproar (besides the Russian commandos) is they’re feeling left out, because their previous contribution to the country, Yanukovich, almost bankrupted the country.

2) No one in “Donetsk Peoples Republic” talks about it being a tax revolt. They don’t have an economic plan, nobody is talking about taxes, revenues, or alternative economic policies. Their “plan” (loosely described as one) is to ask papa Putin to pick up the bill.

3) If a government subsidizes the costs of gas and electricity, then moves to reduce that subsidy, doesn’t that help to remove the distortion? Also, tax increase may be what the IMF is recommending, but implementing one in Ukraine is hopeless - the country already has the highest number of taxes in Europe, and few are paying them. What the country needs is tax reform, simplify the code to make operating a business easier, because the number of taxes is simply stifling (if I recall, the number of taxes was something like 70, could be mistaken, anyway it’s a large number)

The new government has a whole lot to do. Time will only tell if they will succeed.


21 posted on 05/09/2014 11:11:01 AM PDT by Ivan Mazepa
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To: Rashputin

He did, the guy killed a hundred people in February


22 posted on 05/09/2014 11:16:38 AM PDT by Ivan Mazepa
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To: Rashputin

“Apparently everyone doesn’t buy the propaganda about it being all the fault of Russia that Eastern Ukraine is in an uproar ever since the mob took over in Kiev.”

I certainly don’t. Russia has a lot of BETTER things to do with their money and manpower than to try to occupy part of Ukraine. If they are there, it is for a DAMN GOOD REASON.


23 posted on 05/09/2014 5:08:39 PM PDT by BobL
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To: rbmillerjr

Let’s see.
People in the East are making stuff ranging from cookies and chocolattes to motor vehicles and spacecraft components getting invovled in free enterprise and effectively selling their products on foreign markets.
People in the West aren’t interested in such activity. Their major source or income, short of smuggling cigarettes and diesel fuel to Poland, are grants to research Russian, German and Polish atrocities towards Ukrainian people to have someone ‘held responsible’.
The fact that their torturers have all died long time ago and there is no Stalin in Kremlin anymore doesn’t bother it. Their idea is to hold ‘moskals’ responsible for generations to come and they aren’t planning any productive activity as a career choice.
It is not surprising after all that the Eastern Ukrainian contribures average $13000 to national GDP and the rest of the country is below $5000.
Yet, for Western Ukrainians Easterner’s are ‘moskal filth’ and ‘unwashed masses’ because they are mostly blue collars dominated by local industrialists. The problem for the Easterners that they are interested in earning from hard work and free enterprise and largely despise public sector. For Westerners it is quite opposite because they have known tricks to benefit from public office and that is why they are dominating the government, they have their ethnic pimps preaching for ‘Russian guilt etc’ and numerous intellectuals advocating ‘European choice’ who has no idea about original ideals behing European culture.
As a result their idea of ‘backward East’ projects into reality.
‘Rich moscals’ are getting progressively taxed 30% and ‘Humble patriots’ 1-5%.
Needless to say that all the Eastern taxes are grabbed by ‘patriots’ in central government (no federalism) and ‘fair share’ goes to a more deserving folks. As a result eastern cities are crumpling with car-sized potholes in the streets and in the west they have new stadiums getting built and subsidized housing.
And I’m not saying here about unofficial ways of central government and their agencies to benefit from said businesses which is widespread.
Yet, they have a nerve to call Eastern businessmen and their employees communists and themselves con artist cronies in high offices, lawyers, neonazi thugs, liberal ‘intellectuals’ and the rest of useful idiot dupes a ‘freedom fighters’? The reason you are believing them is that they also have time, resources and expertise to influence media, to dupe ‘intellectuals’ and public officials in Europe and America. And the other side only has RT for this matter.

Bottom line is both parts are used by EU and Russia and both has their propaganda lines. Both operates some big and small lies but it doesn’t mean there are only wrongs are covered with these lies. There are truths behind it as well.

You are constantly accusing others in Russian propaganda but at the same time pushing the opposite Ukrainian line and ignoring any facts indicating any wrongs with it. Is it needed as far as Ukrainian propaganda is already overrepresented in media?

The truth is in the middle and it is not relativism to say it in this case.


24 posted on 05/09/2014 7:57:44 PM PDT by wetphoenix
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To: wetphoenix; SierraWasp

“I guess non-working and low-wage Ukraians are backing their new government dreaming about German EBT-card and urban ‘intellectual’ useful idiots are all about hope and change dope.”

Sounds like what is happening here in America and in particular, states like California, where the producing counties are taxed more and more to keep the Rat Voters in LA/Gay Frisco/Oakland/Sacramento happy.

In California, the discussions of dividing the state up into basically red and blue counties is starting to heat up again.


25 posted on 05/10/2014 7:45:12 AM PDT by Grampa Dave ( Herr Obama cannot divert resources from his war on Americans!)
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To: wetphoenix

“Let’s see.
People in the East are making stuff ranging from cookies and chocolattes to motor vehicles and spacecraft components getting invovled in free enterprise and effectively selling their products on foreign markets.
People in the West aren’t interested in such activity. Their major source or income, short of smuggling cigarettes and diesel fuel to Poland, are grants to research Russian, German and Polish atrocities towards Ukrainian people to have someone ‘held responsible’.
The fact that their torturers have all died long time ago and there is no Stalin in Kremlin anymore doesn’t bother it. Their idea is to hold ‘moskals’ responsible for generations to come and they aren’t planning any productive activity as a career choice.
It is not surprising after all that the Eastern Ukrainian contribures average $13000 to national GDP and the rest of the country is below $5000.”

Sounds just like our country with supposed ancestors of slavery wanting more and more from those of us where no slavery owning has been documented for over 150 years.


26 posted on 05/10/2014 7:48:58 AM PDT by Grampa Dave ( Herr Obama cannot divert resources from his war on Americans!)
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To: Grampa Dave

~In California, the discussions of dividing the state up into basically red and blue counties is starting to heat up again.~

Look at Ukraine as an example if you think it would be easy.
When former government confronted an ‘Occupy Kiev’ mob and a dozen of armed firebombing cop-killing thugs were shot by yet to be identified snipers, Obama was throwing tantrums and it was an impeachable offence for a Ukrainian president.
Now we have ‘Occupy’ activists in power as unelected acting government and it is ok to use tanks and airpower to strafe productive areas of the country, who aren’t happy about being ‘Occupied’.
Women, children and elderly declared ‘Russian special forces’, killed by the hundreds and no tantrums from Obama this time, and media is silent as well.
Loudmouth leftist freeloaders won’t ever let their milking cow go. You are a catch for them and your riches is a fair share.
And it is ok to grab power by ‘Occupy’ when they do it, but it is highly illegal if ‘Occupied’ ones wants election to get rid of occupiers, just ask Obama and alphabet news.


27 posted on 05/10/2014 8:26:10 AM PDT by wetphoenix
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To: wetphoenix; kronos77

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3154563/posts

House grilled Nuland over US’ Cooperation with Neo-Nazis in Ukraine
NSNBC ^

Posted by kronos77

nsnbc : A two-hour hearing of US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland at the House Foreign Affairs Committee over the Obama administration’s and the US’ role in the developments in Ukraine nailed down Nuland over the United States overt cooperation with and use of neo-Nazis. Nuland tried to dodge questions, explained US plans for Ukraine and told the Committee outright lies about Kiev having “upheld the obligations of the Geneva agreement”. Nuland omitted that Kiev has mobilized Ukraine’s military forces and the presence of large contingents of Ukrainian troops near the Russian border.

Hard times covering-up cooperation with neo-Nazis. It becomes increasingly difficult for the Obama administration and the corporate US press to cover-up the fact that the main driving force behind the coup in Ukraine are neo-Nazis and ultra-nationalists, supported by the US.

While the Obama administration is pushing for Ukrainian elections on May 25, it transpires that about half of the 30.000 troops Kiev deployed to southeastern Ukraine are members of the National Guard, created in March, and “special regional military units” created this month, consisting predominantly of members of the neo-Nazi Pravy Sector and UNA-UNSO, militant members of the ultra-nationalist and overtly anti-Semitic Svoboda party and other radicals dressed in uniform to give the impression of “legality”.


28 posted on 05/10/2014 4:51:52 PM PDT by Grampa Dave ( Herr Obama cannot divert resources from his war on Americans!)
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To: Grampa Dave

Neither Svobda, nor Right Sector, have anti-Semitic leanings, nor are they a neo-Nazi group.

And, Obama has been negligent in the situation in Ukraine, going so far as to lead me to believe that Obama wants Russia to win this thing and take Ukraine.


29 posted on 05/10/2014 5:20:01 PM PDT by Thunder90 (All posts soley represent my own opinion.)
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To: Thunder90

You have to research them better.
An idea that every Occupy Kiev protester is a Nazi is a central lie of Russian media propaganda, but it is absolutely true about respective organizations.


30 posted on 05/10/2014 6:18:35 PM PDT by wetphoenix
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To: Grampa Dave

Thanks, Grampa Dave!


31 posted on 05/10/2014 6:47:49 PM PDT by wetphoenix
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To: All

Putin celebrates Victory Day in Crimea, honoring defeat of Nazi Germans, by annexing territory and being like Nazi Germans....

The sweet irony of it.


32 posted on 05/11/2014 2:10:02 AM PDT by rbmillerjr (Russians to the Left of me, Useful Idiots to the Right...)
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To: Rashputin

Shale gas reserves and major fields of Ukraine
14.06.2013

According to the Energy Information Administration’s estimates published in June, 2013 technically recoverable Ukrainian shale gas reserves constitute 3.6 trillion cubic meters (1,75% of world shale gas reserves). Earlier in 2011 Energy Information Administration has estimated technically recoverable shale gas reserves of Ukraine as 1.2 trillion cubic meters (0.6% of estimated world reserves), and total reserves as approximately 5.6 trillion cubic meters. According to the report of Dixi Group, estimates of shale gas reserves in Ukraine vary and range from 5 to 8 trillion cubic meters, 1-1.5 trillion cubic meters of which are technically extractive.

There are two major deposits of shale rocks in Ukraine, from which an extraction of natural gas is possible, namely Lvov-Lublin basin on the west (extractive shale gas reserves are estimated at the level of 1,47 trillion cubic meters) and the Dnieper-Donets basin on the east (extractive shale gas reserves are estimated at the level of 2.15 trillion cubic meters).

(...)

http://shalegas.in.ua/en/shale-gas-resources-in-ukraine/


33 posted on 05/12/2014 6:11:21 AM PDT by Fitzy_888 ("ownership society")
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