At its weekly meeting, the Ukrainian government approved draft changes to the 2024 budget law to increase defense spending by 495.3 billion hryvnia ($11.9 billion), according to officials and lawmakers.
So far, Ukraine has set a defense spending target of about 1.7 trillion hryvnia for 2024. These changes still need to be approved by the Ukrainian parliament and signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before coming into effect.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's administration wants to raise an additional $11.9 billion to serve defense needs. Photo: Reuters
The Ukrainian government also proposed increasing taxes and other levies, from war taxes paid by residents to imposing additional duties on some imported goods and increasing excise duties on fuel.
Ukraine's finance ministry said the proposed changes were the "most feasible option" to cover additional military needs, adding that only about a third of them would be paid for by tax increases.
Ukraine’s defense spending continues to rise as Mr. Zelenskyy’s administration launches a new campaign to step up mobilization efforts and send more troops to the front lines. Ukraine also focuses on building up its domestic arms industry.
To raise more money for the military, the Ukrainian government has proposed various tax increases, including considering raising the war tax on individuals to 5% from the current 1.5%.
Draft proposals released by several lawmakers show that the Ukrainian government is planning to expand the number of businesses eligible to pay war tax to include individual entrepreneurs and small and micro businesses.
In addition, the Ukrainian Finance Ministry also plans to mobilize about 362 billion hryvnia from efforts to reduce the underground economy and from the domestic credit market.
Quang Anh (according to Reuters)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ukraine-sap-tang-thue-de-mua-vu-khi-va-tra-luong-cho-quan-nhan-post304040.html
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