Every year, the state loses more than 100 billion due to tax evasion
22 August 19:53
EXCLUSIVE
Tax crimes remain one of the main threats to Ukraine’s economic security. Due to tax evasion alone, the state loses more than UAH 100 billion annually, said Andriy Pashchuk, deputy director of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES), in an interview with the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian".
In terms of the scale of losses, he called embezzlement of budget funds the second most important area. Other systemic threats include smuggling and illegal trade in excisable goods, including tobacco and alcohol.
Another important threat is the illegal production and sale of excisable goods. Such schemes cause significant budget losses,” said the BES deputy director.
According to the official, the illegal production and sale of such goods create significant losses for the budget and disrupt fair competition in the market.
In this context, Pashchuk drew attention to the public demand for the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies investigating economic crimes. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the BES, he compared its performance with that of the NABU.
“There are negative statistics on NABU: they have spent UAH 10 billion over the entire period of time and returned only UAH 0.8 billion to the budget. That is, conditionally, they spent 12 hryvnias and returned 1. For comparison: In 2025, BES received UAH 1.9 billion in funding, including salaries, IT, fuel, and utilities. And it has already returned UAH 3 billion to the budget,” the deputy director noted.
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He emphasized that the issue of efficient use of budget funds is especially important in times of war.
“Today, every hryvnia matters, because everything goes to defense. People have the right to know how effectively the money for law enforcement is used and what the result is,” Pashchuk emphasized.
The BES has recently announced the successful completion of a case against a chemical company that had been evading taxes. As a result, more than UAH 43 million has already been reimbursed to the budget. This is another confirmation that the Bureau of Economic Security not only analyzes economic threats but also ensures real financial revenues to the state treasury.
The budget is under threat: how taxes are evaded and what the state is doing about it
Analysts’ research shows that the largest budget losses are caused by the payment of salaries in envelopes, estimated at UAH 115-230 billion annually. Other significant losses are caused by:
- “gray” imports and smuggling – about UAH 120-167 billion
- counterfeiting and illegal trade in excisable goods – UAH 35-40 billion per year;
- tax “twists” with VAT – UAH 15-18 billion;
- offshore schemes – UAH 9-11 billion.
One of the most widespread schemes is the splitting of businesses under the guise of numerous individual entrepreneurs, which led to VAT evasion of approximately UAH 668.5 million in the trade in equipment and clothing. Some of these cases have already been transferred to the Bureau of Economic Security.
In addition, proactive investigations revealed thousands of cases of financial manipulation: 228 documentary checks, over 1000 analytical studies, and 29 criminal cases for tax evasion. The state has already recovered more than UAH 156 million in losses, out of a total of UAH 336 million.
Meanwhile, the introduction of taxation rules for cryptocurrency transactions in the Verkhovna Rada may open up new avenues for money evasion and laundering. Lawyers argue that the risk of financial violations increases if the rules are implemented hastily.
Ukraine’s tax problems: anti-corruption context
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) emphasizes the need to increase transparency and exchange of tax information to combat tax evasion and avoidance of double taxation.
To make progress in addressing this issue, Ukraine is strengthening its position in the international arena. Thus, new double taxation treaties have been concluded with Austria, the Netherlands, Singapore, the UAE and other countries. In the near future, this should improve transparency and reduce opportunities for abuse.
The government also continues to implement a number of reforms, including those related to the tax sector. However, economic experts warn that tax privileges may create a tender deficit and facilitate the creation of new potential schemes to avoid paying money to the Ukrainian budget.
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