This was stated by Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, as reported by RBK-Ukraine referencing a telethon. This information was also reported by Kontrakty.UA.
"For next year, we do not plan, at this moment, to propose any tax increases. We have no such plans," he said.
According to him, the current plans of the fiscal department "give us a basis to say that we do not plan to do this, and we would prefer to avoid these steps in the near future."
The minister noted that the Ministry of Finance understands that these are quite painful steps for the citizens of Ukraine and for businesses.
Justification for Tax Increases in 2024
Marchenko stated that the tax increase was "a forced painful decision." "It is quite a compromise. The compromise we reached, from my perspective as finance minister, only partially satisfied our needs," he said.
According to him, the key task was to balance the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and our capabilities.
"And this year, sorry, we have no other sources besides financing our Armed Forces through taxes. The volumes of domestic borrowing also have their nature and certain limitations. That is, we cannot endlessly inflate borrowings; we needed to rely on some stable base," he added.
Marchenko hopes that the tax increases will be understood. "Because even when communicating with representatives of businesses and citizens, we understand that this is not an unbearable burden, knowing that every hryvnia they contribute will go to the Armed Forces," he said.
Tax Increases
Recall that the law on tax increases came into effect on December 1. The main provision was the increase of the military tax rate on all incomes of Ukrainians from 1.5% to 5%.
Additionally, the law requires individual entrepreneurs to pay the military tax. They will start doing this from January 1.
The Ukrainian authorities stated in a letter of intent to the IMF leadership their readiness to increase the value-added tax (VAT) if necessary. The fund also considers this to be the main resource for additional budget revenues.