RUSSIAN TAX CONCERNS.

Presidential aide Aleksandr Livshits said yesterday that it may be necessary to increase VAT by two percent — to 22 percent — to generate additional funds to bail out the Pension Fund. The same day Duma Budget Committee Mikhail Zadornov, convening a working group to study amendments to the new draft tax code, said there was little chance that the code would be operative before 1999. (Kommersant-daily, July 16)

Russia to Pay Ukraine for Use of Missile Warning Radars.