Funding the fight
战斗融资
How Ukrainian farmers are using the cover of war to escape taxes
乌克兰农场主如何利用战争做幌子逃税
- 拓展学习：熟词僻义 | tax 真的让人很伤脑筋
“Black grain” infuriates exporters playing by the rules
“黑谷物”令循规蹈矩的出口商激愤
- infuriate 使极为生气；使大怒；激怒
SINCE RUSSIA began its invasion in 2022, Ukraine’s economy has shrunk by a quarter. But the ravages of war are not the only reason for the government’s reduced tax take. Businesses are also making use of the chaos to dodge paying their fair share. This is particularly true in agriculture, which before the war was responsible for 40% or so of Ukraine’s exports by income. The sector has been transformed by a scramble to find export routes safe from Russian attack. As Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s deputy minister for agriculture, notes, this disturbance has provided plenty of opportunity for farmers to “optimise taxes”.
自2022年俄罗斯发起入侵以来，乌克兰的经济已经萎缩了四分之一。但战争的破坏并不是政府税收减少的唯一原因。企业也在趁乱逃避应缴的税款，农业领域尤甚。战前，农业收入占乌克兰出口收入的40%左右。随着人们匆忙寻找可以免受俄罗斯攻击的出口路线，这个行业发生了变化。正如乌克兰农业部副部长塔拉斯·卡奇卡（Taras Kachka）指出的那样，这场动荡为农场主提供了大把“优化纳税”的机会。
- ravage 表示“损坏、毁坏、蹂躏、劫掠”或“使荒芜”，强调暴力的严重破坏或彻底毁灭，多指由掠夺、入侵、袭击、风暴或洪水等造成的累计破坏（参见：小词详解 | ravage）
- dodge 引申喻指“回避、逃避、躲避”，多指以狡猾（cunning）或不诚实的方式避开某人或某个事物，包括问题、责任、尴尬处境、兵役、家务等（参见：小词详解 | dodge）
- 拓展学习：熟词僻义 | fair是一种怎样的天气？
- scramble 艰难地（或仓促地）完成
Around 6.5m Ukrainians—or 15% of the country’s pre-war population—have escaped the country, shrinking the domestic food market. At the same time, Russia is targeting transport infrastructure, grain silos and other agricultural equipment, which has driven up costs. Many workers have been recruited by the armed forces, and are at the front. “If you can drive a tractor, you can drive a tank,” notes Mr Kachka. Farmers therefore not only have new opportunities to evade taxes, they are also increasingly desperate. The result is that two of every five tonnes of grain harvests now avoid contributing to state coffers, according to Mr Kachka’s estimates.
约有650万乌克兰人（占战前乌克兰总人口的15%）逃离了乌克兰，导致国内粮食市场萎缩。与此同时，运输基础设施、粮仓和其他农业设备成了俄罗斯的攻击目标，导致成本上升。许多农场工人被武装部队征召，奔赴前线。卡奇卡指出：“如果你能开拖拉机，就能开坦克。”因此，农场主不光有了新的逃税机会，逃税的愿望也愈发急切。其结果就是，据卡其卡估计，现在每五吨谷物收成中就有两吨没有上缴国库。
- silo 筒仓；青贮窖
