Lesya Karnaukh: State Tax Service and the World Bank will work on modernization of tax systems

State Tax Service, together with the World Bank’s experts, will cooperate to modernize internal processes, digitalize administration and strengthen data protection, implementing the best international practices in the cybersecurity sphere. This was agreed upon during the meeting by the State Tax Service’s team led by acting Head of the State Tax Service Lesya Karnaukh and the World Bank’s experts. 

Parties discussed main interaction aspects and identified preparatory measures for its successful launch within framework of the World Bank’s project "Strengthening the Government's capacity to implement fiscal reform" (STRONG Project).  

As Lesya Karnaukh noted, today the main priority for the State Tax Service is introduction of modern approaches to tax administration that meet the EU standards, expanding capabilities of the IT systems and new services for business.

"It is extremely important for us that the World Bank is our partner in these transformations. After all, important component of successful development and implementation of these steps is international expertise, which allows us to identify those areas that require increased attention. At the same time, it is very important to form a detailed plan and clear goals that we strive to achieve during such changes" – said Lesya Karnaukh. 

Global taxpayer survey was conducted with support of the World Bank in 2024, which provided insight into business expectations. Based on its results, Action plan for 2025 – 2026 to increase trust towards the Tax Service was approved in April of this year.

Functional assessment of the State Tax Service’s activities, carried out in 2024, confirmed compliance of the most functions with today’s challenges, but at the same time indicated areas for improvement.

Effective implementation of reforms will ensure mobilization of budget revenues and transparent administration, increase compliance, reduce corruption risks and ensure data exchange with government bodies and foreign competent authorities.

As of today, the State Tax Service continues to implement a number of reforms within framework of the National Revenue Strategy and European integration obligations of Ukraine, so support of the World Bank’s experts can become a significant catalyst in the implementation of such measures. 

"We have already begun to implement these approaches – and again with active support of our partners from the World Bank. Cooperation within framework of the STRONG project on IT consolidation of information resources, development of digital transformation roadmaps – these are not just formal measures, but fundamental work to make the tax system of Ukraine modern and taxpayer-oriented" – emphasized Lesya Karnaukh.