The head of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax, and customs issues, Daniil Getmantsev, is confident that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will sign draft law No. 11416-d, which increases taxes.
“In my opinion, the law will be signed. When that will happen is a question I cannot answer,” he stated at the Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF) on Thursday.
Getmantsev also added that the dialogue between the state and businesses is ongoing for every draft law that passes through the Finance Committee.
He clarified that all legislative initiatives are discussed openly, involving businesses, experts, and government bodies, after which appropriate compromise decisions are made considering the positions of all parties (including the subjects of legislative initiative, which in the case of draft law No. 11416 was the Cabinet of Ministers).
“Therefore, all those involved in the development of draft law No. 11416, including members of the 'Council of Seven', I communicate with them personally and publicly. Their opinions have been heard. However, dialogue is a two-way street, and it is where a certain golden mean can be found,” emphasized the committee chairman.
According to him, after discussions, a decision is made; in this case, it is the least harmful among all the bad options on the table.
Speaking about the idea of increasing taxes, Getmantsev noted that this decision is necessary and the least harmful among all the bad options.
“And, in fact, it was adopted in the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada and, accordingly, went for the president's signature, which we are now expecting,” Getmantsev concluded.
As reported, on October 10, the Verkhovna Rada adopted in full draft law No. 11416-d, which amends the Tax Code regarding the peculiarities of taxation during the state of martial law. The document provides for an increase in the military tax from 1.5% to 5% starting October 1 of this year, an increase in the corporate income tax for banks to 50% for 2024, and an increase in several other taxes and fees.
In turn, this draft law has been criticized by the European Business Association (EBA), the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine (FPU), the Union of Entrepreneurs of Ukraine (SUP), the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (AmCham), the Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine (NABU), as well as the Forum of Leading International Financial Institutions (FLIFI), which suggested that the government focus on the shadow sector instead of raising tax rates.