Putin vows to protect business

The state must guarantee the stability of privatization and ensure the protection of private property, a keystone of the market economy, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on Tuesday. Officials should protect private property no less than state property, the Russian President said. He stressed that the state would protect the interests of honest businesses. According to Mr. Putin, large scale investigations in the business sphere, including tax investigations, do not mean there is a threat to government interests in every case. At the same time, Mr. Putin urged the business community to make a habit of paying taxes, instead of looking for tax evasion schemes. To pay taxes is not only in the interests of the state, but also in the interests of businesses themselves, the President stressed. Mr. Putin also admitted that businessmen were an important part of Russian society, and the government should protect their interests alongside the interests of teachers, doctors, students, scientists and employees in the manufacturing and agricultural spheres.