The Ministry of Finance is ready for a compromise with the parliament regarding tax increases.

According to Minister of Finance Serhii Marchenko, this strictly depends on the how the parliament plans to secure an additional ₴120B in revenue by the end of 2024. The Ministry of Finance has proposed an increase in the military levy for this purpose, but there are calls in the parliament to increase the value-added tax.

“We are always ready to look for compromise solutions,” Marchenko said. He added, “I will say honestly: the situation is critical.”

The Cabinet of Ministers’ draft law proposes to increase the military levy from 1.5% to 5% and to extend it to private entrepreneurs (FOPs) and certain transactions, such as the sale of jewelry, real estate, the purchase of bank metals, or new cars.

US special representative Penny Pritzker told reporters that the US encourages the Ukrainian government to increase budget revenues primarily by reforming customs and combating the gray markets of cigarettes, alcohol, and electronics.