Hetmantsev boasted of how he managed to bring $2.5 billion out of the shadows in a year
2 January 14:27
In 2024, the general fund of the state budget received UAH 1.04 trillion (balance), which is UAH 422.3 billion more, or 68.7% more than in peaceful 2021. This was announced by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy Danylo Hetmantsev, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Compared to 2023, this year’s revenues increased by 40%, or UAH 296.5 billion. Thus, the growth is 68.7% compared to the peaceful year of 2021 and 40% compared to 2023.
“These are not just numbers, not just a requirement of business to ensure equal and fair taxation rules. This is a weapon that is so necessary for our defense, for our victory,” emphasized Hetmantsev.
As a result of stopping the twists and turns, VAT revenues (balance) amounted to UAH 268.3 billion, which is UAH 112.6 billion more, or 72.3% higher than in peaceful 2021. Accordingly, the increase in tax efficiency amounted to 13.8%, he notes.
Tobacco market
The tobacco market plays a special role in the unshadowing rating. Thanks to the joint efforts of law enforcement agencies and the tax service, the volume of the shadow tobacco market has been reduced from 25.7% to 12.6%, Hetmantsev writes.
Excise tax payments increased by UAH 16.1 billion, or 33.7%, compared to June-December of the previous year. Also, signs of a large-scale scheme of legalization of income through manipulation of cash registers worth UAH 29 billion were detected.
As a result of the development of the liquids market, the volume of ordered brands in Q3 2024 increased 30 times compared to Q1 of the same year.
Fuel market
Hetmantsev notes that budget revenues amounted to UAH 5.7 billion, up 30% year-on-year.
Tax efficiency increased from 0.62% in 2021 to 1.07% in 2024. The average monthly salary increased from UAH 16.3 thousand in Q3 2023 to UAH 22.9 thousand in September 2024, an increase of 41%.
The budget received UAH 643.3 million, up 22.7% year-on-year.
The alcohol market
According to various estimates, the alcohol market is more than 50% in the shadows. Half of this market was avoiding paying taxes, which is why the work on de-shadowing this industry began, emphasizes Hetmantsev.
The unshadowing of the alcoholic beverage market in 2024 brought an additional UAH 1.9 billion to the state budget compared to the previous year.
The payment of excise tax on alcoholic beverages produced in Ukraine increased by UAH 1.7 billion, or 24.4% compared to 2021.
There is also a positive trend in improving the tax efficiency of VAT, which is 6.88%, which is 33.3% more than in 2021 (then the efficiency was 5.16%).
Revenues from the sale of alcoholic beverages increased by 25% between November and January 2024.
One of the key indicators of the de-shadowing of the alcoholic beverage market in 2024 is the increase in capacity utilization of distilleries.
Thus, the capacity utilization of distilleries reached 87%. In 10 months, 23.7 million dal of alcohol was produced, which is 189% more than in peaceful 2021.
In 2021, this figure was only 60%, which indicates that the remaining capacity was used to produce products without excise markings.
Gambling business
The gambling business in Ukraine is one of the most illustrative industries that demonstrates how the transition from the shadow economy to transparency can make a significant difference to the state budget. The path that this market has traveled is difficult and is accompanied by resistance from the beneficiaries of shadow schemes, Hetmantsev noted.
However, it is worthwhile to focus on the scale of changes and look at the numbers:
- 2021: the gambling business paid only UAH 204.8 million to the budget.
- 2022: the situation improved – revenues increased to UAH 730.9 million.
- 2024: a record result of more than UAH 17 billion was achieved.
