Leader of the Batkivschyna party Yulia Tymoshenko believes that the draft national budget for 2019 submitted by the authorities is a budget for the destruction of the economy, since it envisages raising tariffs and freezing minimum wages and pensions, which will lead to the total impoverishment of the population and the destruction of the middle class, according to the official website of the party.
“For the first time in the history of Ukraine, wages and pensions are equal to 43% of the subsistence level. This is the budget of total poverty, saving the tariff policy that is crushing for Ukrainian families – they are increasing by 23%. This is a corrupt and destructive budget for the economy,” Tymoshenko told journalists in the parliament.
According to the leader of Batkivschyna, the minimum wages and pensions provided in the estimates in U.S. dollar terms are 1.7 times less than they were at the beginning of 2014, health care financing has been reduced by 1.6 times.
According to Tymoshenko, it is unacceptable that the budget for 2019 is based on the old tax base, with twice the higher rates than in developed countries, which significantly slows down the development of the economy.
The politician noted that if the government draft budget is adopted, “the economy’s falling, emigration of people to other countries, the destruction of the middle class will continue.”
“This budget, in essence, is a verdict to the country. I hope that the deputies will not risk voting for it,” Tymoshenko stated.
BUDGET, PEOPLE, THREATENS, UKRAINIAN ECONOMY, WELL-BEING, YULIA TYMOSHENKO
Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada has approved a resolution on the conclusions and proposals to a bill on the national budget for 2019 drawn up by the parliamentary budget committee, which means the adoption of the draft national budget at first reading. An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that a total of 240 MPs backed the budget conclusions of the Verkhovna Rada. In addition, MPs on Thursday approved at first reading bill No. 9084 from the so-called budget package. The bill amends the Budget Code.
According to the Budget Code and the regulations of the Verkhovna Rada, the draft national budget for the next year should be adopted at first reading before October 20, although last year it happened only on November 14. After that, the Cabinet of Ministers, with the participation of the parliamentary budget committee, should, within 14 days, but no later than November 3, submit an updated draft to the Rada, taking into account its budget conclusions with a comparative table and explanations of the reasons for refusing individual proposals of the parliament.
Consideration of the draft national budget for 2019 at second reading should be completed before November 20, and at third reading with final approval – before December 1.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said he expects the Verkhovna Rada to adopt the country’s draft state budget for 2019 at first reading during the current plenary week from October 16 to 19. “This week we are expecting budget conclusions and the first reading of the draft state budget for 2019. People’s deputies have already submitted more than 2,000 proposals,” Groysman wrote on his Facebook page.
BUDGET, DRAFT, PARLIAMENT, PM
Revenue of Ukraine’s national budget in May 2018 totaled UAH 96.85 billion, which is UAH 2.99 billion or 3.2% more than the target, the State Treasury Service of Ukraine reported on its website last week. According to the authority, revenue grew by UAH 30.86 billion or 46.8% compared with May 2017, which is mainly linked to sending UAH 17 billion to the budget by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) compared with UAH 5 billion in May 2017.
Revenue of the general fund was UAH 88.78 billion last month, which is 2.4% more of the target and 43.3% more than a year ago.
In January-May 2018, revenue of the national budget came to UAH 369.7 billion. The target was met by 99.4% compared with 98.2% in January-April 2018. Revenue grew by 13.5% compared with January-May 2017.
Revenue of the general fund in January-May 2018 totaled UAH 337.66 billion, which is 1% less than the target and 22.7% more than a year ago.
According to the materials of the State Treasury Service, tax revenue in January-May 2018 brought UAH 164.51 billion to the budget, which is UAH 0.09 billion or 0.1% less than the target, while customs revenue accounted for UAH 125.65 billion, being UAH 3.59 billion or 2.8% less than the target. Tax revenue grew by 16.2% year-over-year and customs revenue – by 9.6%.
In May, tax revenue reached UAH 42.96 billion, which is 2.7% more than the target and 33.8% more than in May 2017. Customs revenue was 4.3% more than the target – UAH 26.56 billion, which was 12.5% more than a year ago.
In general, the May target of the State Fiscal Service met the target by 103.3%. Revenue totaled UAH 69.52 billion, which his UAH 13.79 billion or 24.7% more than in May 2017.
In January-May 2018, VAT was refunded for the amount of UAH 54.8 billion, which is 14.4% more than in January-May 2017. In May, UAH 11.2 billion was refunded compared with UAH 9.95 billion in April 2018 and UAH 9.86 billion in May 2017.
Revenue of local budgets in May 2018 totaled UAH 21.43 billion, which is 17.5% more than a year ago, and in January-May 2018 local budget saw UAH 93.99 billion in revenue, which was 17.6% more year-over-year.
Single social security tax payments in May 2018 grew by 31% year-over-year, to UAH 18.21 billion, and in January-May 2018 – by 28.1%, to UAH 86.6 billion.
The total budget of the sowing campaign in Ukraine in 2018 would be UAH 116 billion, and as of May 18, 2018 some UAH 87 billion was spent, First Deputy Agricultural Policy and Food Minister Maksym Martyniuk has said.
“We are closing the finish of the sowing campaign. As of May 22, 6.859 million ha or 93% of the target was sowed. This figure is almost identical to the last year figure. The month delay in the start of field works was fully removed,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Martyniuk said that there are no reasons to expect that the harvest would considerably decrease compared with the previous year.
“Winter crops give no rise to unfavorable criticism. In the hibernation period only 0.1% of total crops were killed. This is a record. The main indicators in the formula of the future harvest of positive, although weather in the first half of June could influence the harvest. We do not see threats for grain crops after the sowing campaign,” he said.
