Poroshenko proposed changes to 2025 budget: We know where to get UAH 170 billion without raising taxes
Petro Poroshenko presented the ES's proposals to the draft State Budget for 2025. According to him, all untargeted spending should be reduced, and military tax funds should be used exclusively for the needs of the army.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the ES press service.
"Funding for the Armed Forces of Ukraine is absolutely insufficient. However, funding for the prosecutor's office, the BES, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the specialized prosecutor's office is a priority. They have planned an increase of more than 26% for the apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada. For the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers - within 15-20%. Prosecutor's Office - 25%. BES - 75%. This is a real priority for the ruling team," Poroshenko was outraged.
"In total, the state budget expenditures for the maintenance of government bodies will increase by 14.3 billion. Doesn't it seem strange to you when the number of Ukrainians is decreasing, and the cost of maintaining the government is increasing by 30 to 70%?" Poroshenko said.
The politician also emphasized that the so-called "military fee", which is supposed to go to the Armed Forces, is not really that. "Every penny, every hryvnia of the military fee should be directed to a special fund and should not be spent for any other purpose. Our proposal was rejected. So where do they spend this money? For the telethon and to finance the Road Fund," Poroshenko stated. He also noted that the increase in the tax burden would fall on employees, as well as on small and medium-sized businesses and individual entrepreneurs.
"Our proposals allow us to cut expenditures and mobilize revenues by UAH 170 billion without increasing the tax burden on poor people. We propose to reduce expenditures by 105 billion hryvnias and to increase state budget revenues by 65 billion hryvnias. First and foremost, the corrupt, non-transparent, inefficient Road Fund must be abolished," the EU leader emphasized.
"The second position is 25 billion, which is included in the new program of financial support for the preparation and implementation of investment projects. What are these programs? What kind of projects? What kind of investments? This will be determined by the Strategic Investment Council in the Office of the President. This is unconstitutional and illegal," Poroshenko said.
"Almost 10 billion hryvnias will be allocated for raises for poor and underprivileged employees of the prosecutor's office, the BES, the SBI, the tax service, customs, and courts. An additional UAH 8 billion is planned to be spent on investment nannies to split the money among their own. For industrial parks, to provide cashback. 3 billion in capital expenditures for the State Administration, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, and the State Special Communications Service of Ukraine. We have to stop it," Poroshenko said.
"And the cherry on top is the telethon. The taxpayers' money is paying 1.5 billion hryvnias, which means hundreds of thousands of drones. This is what our military is dreaming and praying about," the politician emphasized.
"By October 1, our political team will submit amendments and proposals to be considered by the budget committee and submitted as conclusions of the Verkhovna Rada to the government to be taken into account when preparing the draft budget for the first reading," Poroshenko summarized.
