"No evidence of participation in hostilities": tax debt of UAH 126,000 will be collected from activist Shabunin

The Donetsk District Administrative Court has upheld the claim of the State Tax Service to collect a tax debt of UAH 126,400 from blogger and activist Vitalii Shabunin. This is stated in the court decision published on the website of the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.

As noted by journalist and military man Volodymyr Boyko, Vitalii Shabunin announced the collection of money to rebuild his own house after a fire that occurred back in 2020.

"Whether people really transferred money or Shabunin only legalized his funds in this way is not known for certain. But it is known for sure that from the received cash gifts, Shabunin had to pay UAH 227,438.92 in income tax, and he paid only UAH 101,000," the journalist emphasized.

In this regard, the Main Directorate of the State Tax Service in Kyiv assessed Shabunin a tax liability of UAH 126,438.92.

As Boyko notes, the activist refused to pay the remaining taxes. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, an additional reason appeared for this: Shabunin stated that he had mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, as noted in the decision, the court found no evidence that the activist "was involved in direct participation in military operations, which prevented him from fulfilling the tax obligations that he independently declared for 2020."

"Shabunin, who in fact did not participate in military operations for a single day, currently commands the branch of the field mechanized bakery of the food warehouse 218 of the joint support center of the Logistics Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the city of Kharkiv. He received UAH 345,070 in cash benefits as a military serviceman and UAH 2,334,119 in income from entrepreneurial activity. What kind of military service is this, where a mobilized person during the war engages in entrepreneurial activity?" Boyko notes.

Recall that the State Bureau of Investigation is also investigating a number of criminal cases against Shabunin: in particular, about evasion of mobilization, forgery of NACP documents, illegal use of humanitarian aid, and misappropriation of a Nissan Pathfinder jeep.