President Poroshenko called on representatives of united territorial communities to create conditions for the development of SMEs in their territories and to seek ways to attract investment.

"As we are in the center, each of you, at your own level, must look for the ways to attract investment in the community, to create new jobs in your territories. Here is your direct interest: the lion's share of the personal income tax goes to the local budgets. Decentralization has given you a chance to become successful local leaders who are able to solve the problems of the village or the city," Petro Poroshenko addressed the participants of the II Ukrainian Forum of United Citizens “Initiatives that Change Life”.

The Head of State reminded that one of the tasks of decentralization is to bring power closer to the ordinary man, to reduce the distance and time to solve problems. "The President, the Government and the Verkhovna Rada are determined to cooperate effectively with you," he assured.

According to the President, over the past three years there was a discussion about the distribution of money between the center and the communities: "We have achieved results that many did not expect - a ratio of 50% to 50% of local and central budgets". He added that this is not only a merit of the local communities, because a significant tax base was transferred to the local communities by the decision of the central government - the President, the Prime Minister, the Government, the Parliament.

"Now is the time to focus on how to increase the revenues of local and state budgets. This is the main topic of today's forum. This is convincingly evidenced by the presence on the agenda of such issues as the development of SMEs in the communities, the formation of local investment climate, strategies for the development of united territorial communities," Petro Poroshenko stressed.

He recalled the meeting with representatives of the largest and most influential business associations, including representatives of small and medium businesses. "Why do we pay attention to this? The country, in order to become successful and prosperous, needs investments, economic growth, new jobs, salary growth, budget revenues and increased revenues to the Pension Fund. These are things that are quite rightly demanded from the authorities. And these are the goals that can only be achieved by creating favorable conditions for business," Petro Poroshenko emphasized.

According to the President, GDP growth in the third quarter of this year is 2.1%, and this is, of course, a positive trend, which cannot but please us. Especially after a deep fall, caused by the war, embargo and economic aggression on the part of Russia. "But, obviously, such pace for us is unacceptable. Consequently, we must jointly seek out non-standard, non-trivial solutions to stimulate investment and accelerate economic growth," he stressed.

The Head of State said: "We proposed some very important decisions that were discussed with the business and met its absolute support".

He said that he had proposed to impose a tax on withdrawn capital instead of a corporate income tax, which would mean the taxation of only part of the profits of enterprises not directed at the expansion or creation of production capacities. According to the Head of State, this will allow freeing funds for the development and modernization of enterprises. He expressed hope that this innovation would start on January 1, 2019

The President also noted that the next fiscal year would introduce an installment for VAT payment on the import of equipment for production. He also expressed hope that his initiative to extend the moratorium on inspections of SMEs would be implemented.

Petro Poroshenko reminded that last week he had signed a law suspending the "mask show" of security officials at enterprises and power structures, such as the Prosecutor General's Office, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Police, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau would be deprived of the opportunity to influence business.

According to the President, three years ago, when changes to the Budget and Tax Code of Ukraine gave birth to decentralization, few expected that we would go so far. "I bet that most of you considered this to be another campaign," he said, adding that it was a deliberate strategy, embodying one of our most important reforms.

The President said that now we can say: decentralization is one of the most effective reforms, with compelling qualitative and quantitative changes. "Initiatives, decisive people, heads and deputies who enjoy community’s trust, assume responsibility and have the right to solve complex issues of the community," Petro Poroshenko noted.

He recalled that in 2014 local budgets' revenues amounted to 68 billion 600 million hryvnias, and by the end of this year, local budget revenues are expected to reach 171 billion hryvnias. According to him, it is in the framework of decentralization that the local authorities began to repair and build new kindergartens, new schools, finally lighting was implemented in settlements, new institutions of culture, roads were being built.

The Head of State also says that the network of centers for the provision of administrative services is expanding, local self-government received powers in the field of architectural and construction control, decentralization enabled central authorities and local governments to implement the law on improving the accessibility and quality of medical care in rural areas. "And we have already allocated the first four billion to finance this project," Petro Poroshenko stressed.

An additional aspect of this reform is the development of information and communication technologies in the countryside: optical networks, 4G, other technologies, as stated by the President. Petro Poroshenko noted that in addition to expanding the range of medical services for peasants and introducing telemedicine, this would provide the village with high-speed Internet, which would be useful for the ambulatory, school, library and also meet the information needs of the villagers.