IMF concerns about situation in Rada, gives time until late March to raise taxes - Bloomberg

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed concern about Ukraine's ability to continue receiving aid from the USD 8.1 billion package as the Verkhovna Rada is delaying the measures needed to release the funding.

This was announced by Bloomberg, citing an IMF representative, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

It is noted that the Ukrainian parliament has until the end of March to adopt a number of legislative amendments that provide for tax increases for businesses and households under the latest four-year credit program approved last month.

But lawmakers have so far failed to discuss several changes proposed by the IMF, as a sign of defiance of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which could potentially paralyze parliament.

The measures are deeply unpopular among the general public in the fifth year of the war, but they must be adopted to unblock the rest of the funding. Kyiv has already received USD 1.5 billion under the latest program.

"I can say that I am concerned," IMF Resident Representative for Ukraine Priscilla Toffano told Bloomberg on Monday.

IMF staff, led by mission chief Gavin Gray, plan to meet with Ukrainian lawmakers starting March 18, said a person familiar with the matter, who declined to be named, discussing the closed discussions. The Washington-based lender is Kyiv's second-largest foreign donor.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in late February, the International Monetary Fund's Board of Directors approved a new four-year, USD 8.1 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Ukraine.

Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the Verkhovna Rada's Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Committee, said that the chances of introducing VAT for individual entrepreneurs are significantly reduced due to the government's position.

On March 10, the Verkhovna Rada refused to introduce a tax for sellers on marketplaces such as OLX, Rozetka, Prom, etc.

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