The government of Ukraine is going to offer the Verkhovna Rada to vote for unpopular tax changes.
The Ministry of Finance on Thursday, March 19, published on its website a new tax bill, the adoption of which is necessary for Ukraine to fulfill the conditions of the International Monetary Fund, informs the portal PromPolitInform.
The bill marks four key tax requirements that were included in the memorandum with the IMF:
- automatic taxation of income received from digital platforms at a preferential rate of 5%. The tax-free minimum will be 2000 euros per year, in case of exceeding this limit, the tax is deducted from the excess amount. The preferential rate will be applied to those who open a separate bank account for income from platforms, are not self-employed and have no employees, do not sell excisable goods and receive up to 7.2 million UAH per year (834 minzarplata). Uklon, Bolt, Uber and Glovo support these changes;
- continuation of the rates of military duty, which were introduced for the period of martial law (for individuals it is 5%), until the decision of the Verkhovna Rada on the completion of the reform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine comes into force;
- establishment of value added tax (VAT) on goods purchased on foreign marketplaces; it must be added to the price and paid by the trading platform itself. Parcels worth up to 45 euros will be exempted from tax if they are sent by individuals without a commercial purpose.
- introduction from January 1, 2027 of mandatory payment of VAT by subjects of a simplified taxation system with incomes of more than UAH 4 million per year.
The adoption of this bill (under the terms of the memorandum, this should happen before the end of March) depends on Ukraine receiving the second tranche from the IMF in June 2026.
Cooperation with the fund for Ukraine is uncontested, explained Danylo Getmantsev, chairman of the tax committee of the Verkhovna Rada, because the IMF is “an anchor that fixates on itself all other programs.”
“Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers cannot ignore the position of the IMF,” he said in December.
The situation for Ukraine is aggravated by the fact that Hungary and Slovakia blocked the provision of a loan of 90 billion euros from the European Union, and the war in the Middle East improves Russia’s financial situation, while for Ukraine its influence is negative.
The next plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada is scheduled for next week, starting from March 24.
Photo – CMU
