This year Ukrainian companies did not pay UAH 1.3 billion in VAT to the budget because of the for the distribution of Ukrainian-language content. This was reported by the Bureau of Economic Security, UNN reports.
According to analysts estimate that in 2023, using the privilege for the distribution of of Ukrainian-language content, companies did not pay UAH 1.3 billion in VAT. Of this amount, 176 million of this amount was not paid by companies that do not sell paper, e-books or other content. Only 21% of companies that that have taken advantage of the privilege have the corresponding main KVED. That is, they are engaged in activities related to the distribution of such products.
More than others, the benefit was used by household appliances retailers and grocery supermarkets. They added to the the check to the main product e-books in Ukrainian, which the customer did not actually buy. did not actually buy.
The said was introduced ostensibly to popularize Ukrainian-language content. The author of the of the draft law in 2021 was MP Zheleznyak and he was supported by the chairman of the of the Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev.
Already in 2022, the draft law was passed despite criticism and the position of the tax authorities. The latter in its proposals emphasized that the budgetary losses from the unlawful use of the benefit can be much higher than the positive effect. It suggested that MPs should first MPs to first make financial and economic calculations and justify the the expediency of such a benefit.
A similar conclusion was made by the Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Verkhovna Rada, noting that the draft law needs to be finalized and contradicts the provisions of the Council Directive EU DIRECTIVE.
However. all these positions were ignored. As well as numerous tax returns, in which companies that had nothing to do with distribution of any content. At a time when the budget was losing millions, none of them of them were subject to additional audits by the State Tax Service.