MOSCOW. April 8 (Interfax) - All changes that are planned for the tax sphere should fit the long-term strategy for the country's development in the period until 2020, Russia's President-Elect Dmitry Medvedev said.

"I agree that there should not be a situation when a long-term policy has already been adopted, but there is no decision on taxes. If decisions on taxes cannot be made in the set period, it means that the conceptual document must be adopted at a later time. There must be a balance here," Medvedev said at a meeting with the administration of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) in Moscow on Tuesday.

The statement was made in response to a statement made by RSPP President Alexander Shokhin, who said he was concerned about the fact that, according to his information, the long-term policy for the period until 2020 is expected in May, while decisions on lowering the VAT can only be made in August.

"If the decision on taxes is made after the policy, "the policy will no longer be needed because it is unclear what it will be based on," Shokhin said.

"The fact that the long-term strategy lacks a clear trajectory of the VAT reduction will make it impossible for businesses to prepare strategies and budget plans," he said.

"Even if we are talking about the prospects of reducing the VAT before 2010, we had better make the corresponding decisions today to give businesses an idea of when it will happen," he said.