Economic patriotism is a key philosophy of Robert Horvat

Robert Horvat is a Transcarpathian political dark horse, who definitely claims the status of the favorite. Recall the numerous skeptical comments about the prospects of Horvat winning insane political race in the toughest electoral constituency of Transcarpathia that transformed into a certain irony about the possibility of his activity in the parliament. However, very soon Horvat showed: he is not going to be an extra in the Verkhovna Rada.

The first, bold claim for a key role in initiating the bills necessary to society was made late last year. It was then when Horvat publicly announced about the bill prepared by him, the introduction of which, according to substantiated forecasts, should significantly "bring down" the prices for cars in the domestic market. Let’s face it, the persistence of the beginner in Ukrainian parliamentarism did not cause a storm – few people indeed believed that Horvat would be able to break the resistance of a powerful car lobby. But a few months later, media space was set ablaze with the news of the adoption of the law 3251. Robert Horvat patiently once again explains its essence at the press conference:

– 3251 is a bill that changes the pricing basis for vehicle clearance – this "draconian excise tax." The goal is to equalize excise taxes on new and used cars which are now disproportionate. Nowhere in Europe, there is a discrimination of used cars, but here they are disproportionately overpriced due to differentiated excise price.

The number of reports on the bill 3251, whose title is: "On amendments to subsection 5 of section XX "Transitional Provisions" of the Tax Code of Ukraine regarding stimulation of the market of used vehicles" apparently exceeded even the amount of news about the adoption of the judicial reform. As well as the analysis of the prospects of its entry into force. Horvat himself explains this ratio simply:

– The bill, its idea is understandable to laymen. It affects the purse of each motorist and their families. For me it’s obvious. Proper laws that benefit the people and are supported by the people.

Now the bill that made so much hype in the press and society is pending at the procedural committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, because the car lobby tries to delay the submission of the document to the President. 

237 votes in the Parliament is quite convincing. Note, among them, there is the vote of Nadiya Savchenko, for whom the voting took place on the very first day of her work at the Parliament. To ensure such convincing support, the author had to work hard: conduct dozens of talks, persuade, argue… As for the further passage of the bill 3251 to the final enactment, Horvat is optimistic, but pulls another trump card out of the sleeve:

– Cars in Ukraine are the oldest in Europe: the average age of cars is 18 years. Real "killer cars" drive on our roads. Those are 30-40-50 year old vehicles produced by the Soviet automotive industry, for which the health of drivers, passengers and pedestrians was not of a particular concern. The accident statistics show that old and not very good cars are dangerous for drivers, passengers and other road users. In addition, the Euro-5 standard means that emissions are 25-30 times cleaner than those of the most cars that are used in Ukraine. Therefore, the advantages are obvious!

It is quite possible to measure the efficiency of the MPs. They are closely watched by public organizations, institutions of social control. For example, the famous site Slovo i Dilo that controls the ratio of promises and deeds of Ukrainian politicians defined Horvat’s "formula" as 50/50. One half is those promises, the implementation of which is not yet complete, and the other half is the fulfilled promises. And while the bill 3251, apparently, still belongs to the first category, another law authored by Robert Horvat – 3046-D – came into force on June 1. The document regulates the procedure for sale of used cars without double payment of VAT and its purpose is to unshadow car market. As for the bill, that is the most important for him now – 3251, the MP’s predictions are as follows:

– I calculated that about 400 thousand cars a year can be imported to the country. Provided that those are vehicles costing on average of 5-6 thousand euros, the country’s budget can receive as much as UAH 20 billion. This amount of vehicles will inevitably affect the prices of the cars already imported to Ukraine. We expect the prices of cars to drop by 15-25%. These trends will inevitably affect the pricing policies of large manufacturers who will be forced to lower prices for new cars to European levels.

Another organization that closely monitors the activities of MPs – OPORA – identified Horvat as the most active of the Transcarpathian majoritarian MPs in May. The statistics of the last six months show that he is quickly and unexpectedly for parliamentary regulars gaining momentum in achieving the tasks he set for himself. And, as we see, it is clear even for skeptics that the young Transcarpathian politician came here to stay and he will make you respect him!

– I am a man of action. I’m not interested in wasting time for words if they are not followed by results. So many people in the Parliament look at me, to put it mildly, as if I am some kind of a weirdo. Why do you need this bill on excise tax? They ask… What’s in it for you? It is for the country and for the people, I answer… But rest assured, there is quite a lot of such "weirdos" in the Parliament. And it is encouraging… My belief is that politicians, statesmen should be guided in their actions by economic patriotism. If there is real patriotism, there will be real economy. I believe in it!