State-owned PrivatBank has launched a service in the “Privat24” app for filing single-tax payer returns for individual entrepreneurs (FOP) in the first through third groups, with the option to pay taxes afterward, the financial institution reported.
“Integrating electronic reporting into the mobile app will reduce the administrative burden on small businesses and minimize the risk of errors when filling out documents,” said Yevhen Zaigraev, a member of PrivatBank’s Management Board responsible for corporate business and small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Privat24” generates the tax return based on transactions in the entrepreneur’s bank accounts and calculates the income received. The sole proprietor must verify the data and sign the document using SmartID, after which it will be sent to the State Tax Service.
Once the tax service accepts the tax return, the entrepreneur can pay taxes within the app. The service is available in the “Tax Returns” section, where users can also view previously filed returns.
According to the bank, the number of active Privat24 users in the first quarter of 2026 increased by 2% compared to the same period last year—to 13.7 million—while the number of active business clients rose by 4%, to 952,000.
PrivatBank is Ukraine’s largest bank. According to the National Bank, the financial institution’s total assets as of June 1, 2026, amounted to 965.11 billion UAH (22.7% of the total).
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he is prepared to impose 100% tariffs on any country that imposes a digital services tax on American companies.
“Many European countries are discussing the immediate implementation of a digital services tax on American companies. Some of these countries are close to putting their words into action,” the U.S. leader wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.
“Please let this statement serve to make it clear that any country that imposes such a tax will immediately face 100% tariffs on any goods exported to the U.S.,” he emphasized.
The overall level of illicit tobacco trade in Ukraine rose to 19.8% in April 2026 from 17.6% at the beginning of the year, according to the results of the second wave of the project “Monitoring Illicit Tobacco Trade in Ukraine,” conducted by Kantar Ukraine on behalf of leading manufacturers in the industry.
According to data published on its website, nearly one in five packs of cigarettes on the Ukrainian market is illegal. Analysts estimate that, given this level of the black market, annual losses to the state budget due to unpaid taxes amount to 33.3 billion UAH.
“The main factor driving this growth was an increase in the volume of counterfeit products, particularly cigarettes with forged excise stamps. At the same time, the volume of products labeled ‘Duty Free’ or intended for export but illegally sold in Ukraine has remained stable since the beginning of the year, although it exceeds the figures for 2025,” the study notes.
According to the study’s findings, 38% of the total volume of counterfeit products consists of cigarettes from local manufacturers with counterfeit excise stamps. The main producer of such products, based on the labeling on the packaging, remains Marshall Finest Tobacco (United Tobacco)/VK Tobacco FZE.
In the segment of products labeled “Duty Free” or intended for export but illegally sold in Ukraine, 55% of cigarettes are produced by the Vynnykivska Tobacco Factory, and another 44% by Marshall Finest Tobacco.
Geographically, 68% of the total volume of illegal tobacco products is concentrated in seven regions of Ukraine: Dnipropetrovsk (18%), Odesa (11%), Kharkiv (10%), Kirovohrad (8%), Lviv (8%), Khmelnytskyi (7%) regions, and Kyiv and the Kyiv region (6%).
“The tobacco shadow has grown again(((. For the attention of the updated BEB,” commented Danylo Getmantsev, head of the Committee on Finance, Tax, and Customs Policy, on these results.
According to the study, despite a certain decline in sales of illegal cigarettes through kiosks, it is precisely kiosks and stores that remain the main distribution channels through which about two-thirds of illegal tobacco products are sold.
Kantar Ukraine conducts the “Monitoring of Illegal Trade in Tobacco Products in Ukraine” project on an ongoing basis. The study is based on the collection and analysis of empty cigarette packs, as well as interviews with smokers, to determine the channels of supply and the origin of illegal goods on the domestic market.
The existence of two value-added tax (VAT) exemption thresholds within a single VAT system is an anomaly that must be eliminated, but this decision will have to be made immediately after martial law ends, according to Danylo Getmantsev, head of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax, and customs policy.
“I promised the people that I would not change the single tax system until the end of the war. And I am keeping that promise. As you can see, the law has not been adopted. You have not heard me support it in the version proposed by the Ministry of Finance,” he said in an interview with the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency.
According to the committee chair, the next session of the Verkhovna Rada will decide on a single tax limit, and for them, there will be no alternative.
Getmantsev emphasized that, overall, Ukraine needs to implement a reform of personal income taxation, part of which is the reform of the single tax, and noted that this is provided for in the National Revenue Strategy for 2024–2030.
“We must implement the Polish flat-rate tax model: cash registers from the start, turnover limits of up to EUR2 million, and a single VAT threshold for both sole proprietors and others. The specific amount can be discussed, but it must be uniform. And within the framework of the flat-rate tax, there should be different rates for different types of activities,” the committee chair noted.
In Poland, the VAT exemption threshold was raised this year from 200,000 to 240,000 zlotys, which is approximately EUR56,600, or nearly 3 million hryvnias.
According to Getmantsev, the rate is 3% for retail trade and 10% or higher for services.
“We simply need to follow Poland’s example and make such a serious, correct decision once and for all. But that will have to wait until after the war,” he added.
The committee chair also believes that all these changes must be implemented at once, rather than gradually “chipping away at the problem piece by piece,” because that is an entirely unproductive approach.
“I cannot support any half-measures, because in reality they generate just as much negativity and backlash as major decisions and reforms, but with far less impact. Therefore, after the war, there must be a major reform of personal income taxation, including the flat tax. Incidentally, a progressive tax scale is also provided for there. This is the right decision, and I strongly support it,” Getmantsev noted.
At the same time, he supported the adoption this year of a law to simplify VAT administration, the text of which is currently expected from the Ministry of Finance.
“I believe that until the threshold for sole proprietors is reached—for example, EUR2 million based on the Polish model—tax invoices should not be blocked at all, even if VAT is paid. In other words, the rules for blocking tax invoices should not apply to sole proprietors until they reach the single tax threshold. And there are many other measures that simplify administration,” said the head of the relevant parliamentary committee, among other things.
As previously reported, the adoption by the end of March of this year of a law abolishing the VAT exemption under the simplified tax system was a condition of the new program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), launched at the end of February of this year. It was later reported that the deadline for fulfilling this requirement had been postponed by approximately one year.
In addition, at the end of May, the Verkhovna Rada ratified the terms for providing Ukraine with macro-financial assistance as part of a loan from the European Union to support Ukraine. Under these terms, a bill containing measures to reform the preferential tax regime must be submitted to parliament by the end of the year, which will generate additional revenue of at least 70 billion hryvnia per year.
Getmantsev, TAX, WAR
According to The Serbian Economist, Albania’s Ministry of Finance has submitted a draft bill for public discussion that would increase property taxes and revise the system of tax breaks for homeowners.
Under the proposal, the tax on residential real estate could rise from the current 0.05% of the property’s value to 0.1–0.2%. Higher rates are also proposed for commercial properties, with the total tax burden depending on the property category and its intended use.
One of the key changes concerns owners of second and subsequent properties. If the property is not their primary residence, tax exemptions will not apply. Thus, owners of vacation homes, investment apartments, and additional housing will have to pay the full rate.
In effect, the government is attempting to distinguish between social housing and investment real estate. For families who own only one apartment, the tax increase may be partially offset. For owners of multiple properties, the tax burden will rise more significantly.
The reform is particularly important for Albania’s real estate market, where housing prices have risen rapidly in recent years in Tirana, Durres, Vlora, Saranda, and other locations linked to tourism and investment demand. Amid active construction, interest from foreign buyers, and the growth of short-term rentals, the government is seeking to increase local budget revenues and align property taxation more closely with the market value of assets.
Albania is gradually transitioning from the old model of fixed or low taxes to a more modern system where the tax base is tied to the property’s value. This approach is in line with the recommendations of international financial organizations, but it could prove painful for property owners, especially if the cadastral and market valuations of residential properties are revised upward.
For foreign investors, these changes mean that the annual cost of maintaining a second home on the coast or an investment property in Tirana will become somewhat more expensive. That said, even after the increase, the tax burden in Albania will remain relatively moderate compared to many EU countries.
The key question for the market is how exactly the authorities will assess property values and how quickly the new system will be implemented in practice.
The Albanian real estate market remains one of the most dynamic in the Balkans. Growth in tourism, the development of coastal cities, and interest from foreigners are sustaining demand; however, the tax increase could gradually cool speculative purchases and widen the gap between residential housing and investment real estate.
https://t.me/relocationrs/3077
A decree by the President of Kyrgyzstan titled “On Measures to Improve the Tax System and Tax Administration” will provide a range of tax incentives for entities in the IT sector, as well as those engaged in creative and artistic activities, the country’s tax service announced on Friday.
Specifically, IT workers, artificial intelligence and app developers, bloggers, remote workers for foreign companies, and startup founders will be exempt from taxes for a period of 5 years.
In addition, this category will be subject to a preferential income tax rate of 5% and social security contributions of 12%.
This measure will enable Kyrgyzstan to become a regional hub for the development of IT, artificial intelligence, and creative industries, attracting talented professionals, innovative companies, and investments from around the world, the statement emphasizes.
The preferential tax regime will help entrepreneurs allocate more funds to business development, the implementation of new technologies, and the enhancement of domestic companies’ competitiveness.
