Tax burden, corruption and the absence of quick actions in conducting reforms were the key barriers for business in 2015, according to the investment attractiveness index study conducted by the European Business Association (EBA) for Q4 2015.

"The study shows that 80% of businessmen are not satisfied with the current situation with investment climate in Ukraine. Top managers of companies confirm ed that too much time was spent on talks and plans related to reforms, and few things were done during the year," the EBA said.

A total of 71 top managers working in the EBA-member companies were polled.

Some 62% of respondents did not feel any positive changes in the past three months, 37% believe that investment climate did not change and it is negative, 8% of respondent s said that among positive things is relative currency stability. 8% more respondents mentioned the improvements at the macro-economic level. Some of the respondents said that the positive thing is the upgrade upwards of Ukraine's ratings by Investors Service, Standard & Poor's Ratings Service and Fitch Ratings in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The EBA said that 49% of respondents do not expect that positive changes will be seen in the nearest term, they are convinced that business climate will remain at the same level. 45% of top managers said that Ukrainian markets are not profit-making for new investment. Only 16% are more or less optimistic about Ukraine's investment attractiveness.

Some 98% of businessmen believe that the negative factor is the absence of judicial reform, 93% - low efficiency in fighting corruption, 76% - the absence of signs of stabilization o n the financial market, 62% - insignificant progress in VAT refunding, and 52% - the absence of facilitation of customs procedures.

However, 16% of respondents saw some moves in the customs area, 11% - improvements in trade and 10% are satisfied with VAT refunding.

Investors said that the most important steps that should be made in the Ukrainian economy is fighting corruption (39% of respondents), balanced tax reform (25%), judicial reform( 24%), acceleration of reforms (14%) and removal of red tape from public authorities (8%).

The EBA asked two bonus questions. 48% of respondents that were asked to remember all the reforms conducted in 2015 and say what was the best and what was the failure of the year said that the main success is the creation of the new police, and 7% named reforms in the banking sector. 27% of respondents said that the failure of the year was the refusal of the president and the government to conduct reforms and fight against corruption, 20% - tax and judicial reform, 18% - the absence of real reforms and 12% - the reform of the healthcare/procurement system.

Asked to imagine the situation when they have a right to introduce only one reform and what the reform it is, 31% of respondents named the judicial and law enforcement reform, 24% - tax reform, 16% - the introduction of the anti-corruption system and 10% - dismissal of all civil servants and building all the institutions from a zero.