Ministry of Finance: we are open to a dialog on tax changes, but the decision should be made by September

On July 31, the Government met with representatives of the Council for Support of Entrepreneurship under Martial Law established by the President to consolidate the efforts of the state and business to preserve and develop Ukraine's entrepreneurial potential in the context of a full-scale war.

The meeting was attended by Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, Minister of Finance Sergiy Marchenko, Deputy Minister of Finance Svitlana Vorobey, and Head of the relevant Committee Danylo Hetmantsev.

Together with business representatives and members of the Council for Supporting Entrepreneurship under Martial Law, they discussed government proposals to fill the state budget with taxes, as well as additional ways to increase revenues to finance defense by more than UAH 500 billion. 60% of these funds will be used to pay salaries to the military, and 40% will be spent on weapons, equipment and other critical expenses.

There was an open and constructive dialog on the design of tax changes during the martial law period. The government's proposal is to cover three quarters of the military needs by increasing domestic borrowing and over-execution of existing state budget revenues, including through the de-shadowing of the economy. And only one quarter is to be covered by revising some taxes.

The funds transferred to Ukraine by international partners are not allowed to be used to finance defense. Therefore, it is impossible to transfer funds from non-military programs to the army. Military spending is covered exclusively by domestic resources.

"The issue of providing for the security and defense sector is a priority today. We have proposed ways and are ready to discuss and consider all positions, but we must work out a joint constructive solution as soon as possible to meet the request of the Defense Forces. The decision should be made by September," emphasized Sergii Marchenko.

Representatives of the Government, the Parliament and business agreed to continue their cooperation to find the most effective additional solutions as soon as possible.

Deputy Minister of Finance Svitlana Vorobey is actively participating in daily meetings with business representatives from different sectors of the economy and joins the meetings of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy to work out a joint and compromise solution on the sources of the state budget revenues both by revising some taxes and by additional measures.