President of Federation of Georgian Businessmen and influential financial tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili said on April 25 that a “crack has appeared between the business [sector] and the government,” especially after the authorities abolished Tax Arbitration Councils, which was viewed by the business community as the only meaningful and independent body that could solve tax disputes with the government.

Badri Patarkatsishvili was speaking at a meeting between the representatives of Georgian business circles and Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, which was held on April 25 in Tbilisi.

Patarkatsishvili said that the government’s decision over tax arbitration is “really a problem, which needs to be solved” and “it [the business sector's complaint] is not absurd, as claimed by the authorities.” Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli, who was categorically against these tax arbitration councils, described, on April 21, the businessmen’s protest in a statement issued by the Federation of Georgian Businessmen as “absurd.”

Patarkatsishvili also expressed hope that businessmen will openly put forward their concerns during the meeting with the Interior Minister.

Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili also called on the representatives of business sector to inform him regarding the cases of intimidation and racketeering by the representatives of the law enforcement agencies, if such facts have taken place.