Ukrainian govt not discussing issue of raising taxes – PM
The Ukrainian government is currently not discussing the issue of raising taxes, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the Hour of Government in the Verkhovna Rada on Friday, when ex-speaker of parliament Dmytro Razumkov reminded him of the promise not to raise taxes after they are restored until pre-war level.
“We have not started and are not discussing the issue of raising taxes in the government,” Shmyhal said.
At the same time, he confirmed that the government would approach parliament for additional funds for the security and defense sector.
As the prime minister recalled, the Ministry of Defense has UAH 1.7 trillion for this year, which is allocated only to the needs of the security and defense sector.
“This year there has been an approach of certain resources for the purchase of weapons and related military equipment. Therefore, this year we will apply to parliament for additional funds for the security and defense sector... However, this will be in the second half of the year. The corresponding calculations, the corresponding needs will be presented additionally," Shmyhal said.
Speaking before this, Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko, when asked about bills that could provide sources of income, thanked the Verkhovna Rada for starting consideration of bills to increase excise taxes on fuel and tobacco.
“I hope that you will make a wise decision that will allow you to fill the state budget through appropriate taxes,” said the minister, recalling that the adoption of this law could bring UAH 16 billion this year.
According to him, its result could be a slight increase in prices of “a hryvnia or two” for some products, which, with inflation at 3.2%, will have a slight impact on its level.
“If we have other tax initiatives, I will also ask for your support, because at the moment, every hryvnia of taxes is funds that were allocated to the security and defense sector, so we are very carefully trying to collect these funds,” Marchenko emphasized.
Forbes Ukraine reported at the end of May that the government was considering proposals to increase war tax from 1.5% to 5% and the VAT rate by 2-3 percentage points.