Categories: World News

Ukraine’s Parliament Approves Biggest Tax Increase of War to Support the Army


The Ukrainian Parliament voted on Thursday to approve its biggest tax hike since Russia’s full-scale invasion began more than two years ago, resorting to a politically unpopular move to raise funds for its grueling war effort.

The bill increases a tax on personal income that raises money for military expenditures, raising the rate to 5 percent, from 1.5 percent. It also retroactively doubles taxes on bank profits, to 50 percent for this year, and raises taxes on the profits of other financial institutions to 25 percent, from 18 percent, among other provisions.

The tax increase approved on Thursday will help to fund a $12 billion military spending increase for this year. Yaroslav Zhelezniak, deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax and customs policy, called it a “historic tax increase.”

The move is likely to hit hard in Ukraine, where people have already seen their economic well-being plummet because of the war. But the authorities argue that they have no choice if Ukraine is to sustain its fight against Russia, which has ramped up its own military expenditures. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is expected to ratify the bill in the coming days.

Oleksii Movchan, a member of Mr. Zelensky’s party and the deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on economic development, acknowledged that the bill was “unpopular.”

“We will be hated, but we don’t have any other option,” he said. “It’s about our survival in this war.”

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.


Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.


Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.



Source link

Recent Posts

Small plane crashes into Brazilian city, killing all 10 people on board

CNN  —  A small plane has crashed into an urban center in the southern Brazilian city of Gramado, killing all… Read More

11 hours ago

Will the Christmas market attack divide Germans further over immigration? | Crime

German authorities say the suspect supports a right-wing party.German authorities say the psychiatrist accused of a ramming attack in Magdeburg… Read More

11 hours ago

China says US ‘playing with fire’ by giving Taiwan more military aid

Beijing calls on the US to stop ‘dangerous moves’ that ‘undermine peace and stability’ in the Taiwan Strait.China has warned… Read More

16 hours ago

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,032

Here are the key developments on the 1,032nd day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Here is the situation on Sunday, December… Read More

23 hours ago

Inside the Final Days of the Assad Regime in Syria

As rebels advanced toward the Syrian capital of Damascus on Dec. 7, the staff in the hilltop Presidential Palace prepared… Read More

1 day ago

Is the US willing to take action against foreign powers fuelling Sudan war? | Sudan war

The conflict in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 12 million. US President Joe Biden is… Read More

1 day ago

This website uses cookies.