Ukrainian MPs set to raise military tax to 5%

Source: Danylo Hetmatsev/Telegram

On Wednesday, a working group in Ukraine’s parliament has green-lit a plan to increase the military levy from 1.5% to 5% on the income of Ukrainians so that more funds could go to d to the armed forces through a special fund. Additionally, a 1% levy will be introduced for ‘third-group’  individual entrepreneurs.

By contrast, a 1% military levy for legal entities has been dropped from the proposal as well as an increased corporate tax for banks as the latter drew a blowback from the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Ukraine.

Danylo Hetmantsev, the Verkhovna Rada’s financial committee chair, said that “the finance ministry has approved these changes but the prjojected revenue has melted going down from an anticipated 125 billion hryvnas to just 30.1 billion hryvnas. And we haven’t had its second reading in parliament yet”.

Amendments to Ukraine’s enforcement proceedings legislation, initiated by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, have entered into force. Among other measures, the reform provides for the automated lifting of attachments on bank accounts immediately after debts in enforcement proceedings have been fully settled. The main practical benefit for citizens is the complete elimination of the need to contact an enforcement officer in person and wait for paper decisions once the debt has been paid.

The 157th Separate Mechanized Brigade has received another batch of supplies as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front military initiative. This time, the military received seven quad bikes and four mobile shower and bath units.

In my previous column, I wrote about social innovations in Ukraine. Those innovations are part of civic resilience and the democratization of security, which Europe is paying close attention to right now. The EU is trying to work out how to spread responsibility for its own security across society as a whole, rather than leaving it to institutions alone. It is looking for concrete ways to bring ordinary people into the work of defense and resistance.

Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers have appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court demanding that NABU be obligated to register proceedings regarding the fact of exerting influence on the court and to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in the case of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, due to her pressure on Supreme Court judges who were considering a lawsuit to overturn sanctions.

Internationally recognized brands and financial institutions should direct capital to Ukraine now, not waiting for the hostilities to end. This was emphasized by Rinat Akhmetov, president of FC Shakhtar, during a working visit to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where he met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.