Association of Frontline Cities proposes increasing local budget revenues by UAH 18.2 billion
Chairman of the Association of Frontline Cities and Communities Ihor Terekhov has initiated changes to the draft State Budget of Ukraine for 2027. The proposals include increasing funding for the social sphere, education, and medicine, as well as redistributing tax revenues to support territories. This was reported by Association of Frontline Cities and Communities, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
Chairman of the Association of Frontline Cities and Communities, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov has sent an official appeal to Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk and Prime Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Koretskyi. The document contains a list of initiatives for adjusting the state’s main financial plan for the upcoming year, taking into account the needs of regions directly affected by military hostilities.
The Association’s key proposal concerns personal income tax, suggesting that 64% remain with communities instead of the planned 60%. According to estimates, this would provide an additional UAH 18.2 billion for local budgets. Furthermore, they insist on maintaining compensation for differences in utility tariffs and halting the withdrawal of funds via the reverse subsidy mechanism for territories where active combat is ongoing.
Funding for education and social sectors
To support the education sector, the Association demands an additional UAH 32.3 billion, of which UAH 25 billion will be directed toward subventions and teacher payments. Another UAH 5 billion is to be spent on increasing salaries for preschool and extracurricular education workers, while UAH 2.3 billion is earmarked for security infrastructure, specifically the construction of school shelters. It is also proposed to set the minimum wage at UAH 10,000 starting in early 2027.
Social support requires an additional UAH 27.9 billion. A significant portion of this amount, about UAH 9.7 billion, is allocated for increasing the wages of rehabilitation and social service employees. In the health sector, UAH 1.6 billion is provided for repairing damaged medical facilities and installing autonomous power supply sources.
Community recovery and revenue sources
Over UAH 12 billion is proposed to be allocated for investment projects and infrastructure recovery. Specifically, UAH 8.45 billion will go toward 51 priority projects, and UAH 3 billion will cover budget compensation for tax exemptions. Resources are also planned to be allocated for clearing territories of construction waste.
To balance these expenses, the initiative’s authors propose attracting UAH 95 billion in additional state budget revenue. The majority of this, UAH 65 billion, is expected to be generated through anti-smuggling efforts and de-shadowing the economy. Another UAH 30 billion is expected to be received by increasing the profit transfer from the National Bank of Ukraine to the state treasury to UAH 78.7 billion.
Illustrative photo: Міністерство внутрішніх справ України / CC BY 4.0
