The Financial Stability Board (FSB), which includes, in particular, the leadership of the National Bank and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, proposes to abandon the preferential taxation of motor fuel. According to the press service of the NBU on the website on Monday, an increase in taxes on imports, in particular excises on fuel, is proposed as one of the ways to further increase budget revenues.
“According to the results of January-May 2022, the state budget deficit was larger than for the whole year of 2021 and 2020. Budget revenues decreased, including due to preferential taxation of imports, while at the same time, spending increased significantly, primarily for military needs and social programs,” the NBU said in a statement.
As reported, on June 23, the FSB agreed on key areas of action to narrow the state budget deficit and reduce the volume of its monetary financing: optimization of government spending and revenue growth, activation of domestic market borrowing and increasing the predictability of international aid.
At the end of March, the Rada adopted amendments to the Tax Code, according to which it canceled the excise tax on the supply of gasoline and liquefied gas and reduced VAT on the import of motor fuel to 7%.
Subsequently, a draft law was submitted to the Rada that provided for the rejection of these benefits, but these norms were excluded from it even before they were introduced to the hall, as they caused fears of an even greater increase in the price of fuel. As a result, from July 1, import privileges for most goods will be canceled, but they will remain for motor fuel.
The National Bank of Ukraine is also proposing to the government and the Rada to introduce a 10% additional import duty, similar to the one that existed in 2014-2015, to ease pressure on the hryvnia and replenish the state budget. However, the government and the profile committee have so far refused to apply such a measure.
