Tax revision is unavoidable. Everything should happen very quickly - "servant of the people" Hetmantsev
In 2025, the budgetary situation in Ukraine will deteriorate, so tax revisions are unavoidable.
This was stated by Danylo Hetmantsev (Servant of the People), chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, in an interview with delo.ua, Censor.NET reports.
"If we are talking about exceeding the plan (budget revenues - Ed.) by UAH 60 billion over 5 months, this figure is still incomparable to the UAH 400 billion that the state budget lacks. Therefore, we will have to make difficult but necessary decisions," the MP explained.
"Let's look at the options that are on the table, not according to our wishes, but according to the theory of finance. First, the issue or accelerated devaluation of the hryvnia. This is undoubtedly a step of last resort, which we will use as a last resort. Secondly, redistribution of local budget balances of up to UAH 155 billion. However, this is also a bad solution that we would not like to use. Thirdly, raising taxes. This is also a bad solution, there is no debate here, but it is, let's say, the least harmful of all available solutions, and therefore we are currently waiting for proposals on taxation from the Cabinet of Ministers. Unfortunately, tax revision is unavoidable, as the budget situation will deteriorate even further in 2025. Not only because of the rising costs of the army, which we have to cover on our own but also because of the uncertainty of international assistance. Ukraine's need for international financing in 2025 is estimated at USD 32 billion, of which we do not yet understand how to cover USD 15 billion. At the same time, we are counting on the G7 leaders' summit, which is expected to decide on allocating additional funding for Ukraine worth USD 50 billion starting in 2025 at the expense of profits from blocked Russian assets (the interview was recorded on the eve of the G7 leaders' summit - ed.)," Hetmantsev added.
At the same time, Hetmantsev stressed that he was not yet "ready to announce specific figures and other parameters".
"We need to wait for the proposals of the Cabinet of Ministers, which we will later consider and support," he explained.
"The only additional resource to fill the state budget in the current environment can be raised by revising the rates of two main taxes - VAT and PIT (military tax). And everything should happen very quickly. That is, we need to adopt the relevant legislative changes and introduce new tax rates this year," Hetmantsev summed up.
