Minister of Finance Serhii Marchenko said that the Ministry of Finance is ready to discuss raising taxes, but the situation is already critical.
He said this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
According to the minister, in Ukraine, 70% of the officially employed are the public sector, where you cannot hide your salary, but the share of the public sector is not significant among all those working in the country.
That is why the expansion of the military levy tax base is the right step, so that every working citizen of Ukraine has the opportunity to contribute to the support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"We clearly identify the military levy with the incomes of citizens, part of which they have to pay in the form of taxes. Our task is to ensure fairness in the payment of the military levy. And this was the main principle why we chose the military levy and not other taxes. About VAT there was a long discussion Everyone pays VAT. And an increase in the rate would automatically affect the cost of goods that are sold. Indeed, this was one of the options we discussed. We have this decision and we are ready for discussion in the Verkhovna Rada. I am always ready to talk about alternative sources to the ones we offer. But why are we not touching VAT now?" Serhii Marchenko said.
He called the VAT increase an unpopular step.
However, increasing the VAT rate is an option that is always there, but it is very simple and at the same time painful for the least protected citizens.
The minister also added that there is a risk that after the adoption of tax initiatives, business will go into the "shadow".
"The question of "shadow" always arises when it comes to raising tax rates. At the same time, we hope that between non-payment of taxes and the need to ensure the security of the country, business will make the right choice. Because it's strange when your house is on fire and you're not thinking about it, how to put out the fire first, and what wallpaper to buy. We are now solving one specific problem from which all the rest are derived - we need a resource for the security and defense sector so that the Armed Forces can continue to fight effectively," Marchenko added.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in mid-July, the Cabinet of Ministers approved bills proposing to raise taxes by a total of UAH 140 billion by the end of the year, and to increase spending on defense and security forces by UAH 495.3 billion.
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