Is Hetmantsev planning to limit access to high-quality Internet during the war? People’s Deputy starts a fight with providers
The Internet Association of Ukraine appealed to the president for protection, urging him to stop the campaign to destroy the small domestic telecom business.
The head of the Verkhovna Rada committee on finance, tax and customs policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, took the initiative against Internet providers that use a simplified taxation system. According to the deputy, these entrepreneurs pay too low taxes. In response, the Internet Association of Ukraine called on President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to protect ISPs from the pressure of Hetmantsev, who may be acting in the interests of foreign players.
In his articles Hetmantsev noted for “Glavkom” that many Internet providers in Ukraine register their companies as individual entrepreneurs (FOP) in order to reduce the tax burden. According to him, such providers pay taxes under a simplified system.
“The average income per user of fixed line services is UAH 219 (vs. UAH 102.1 for mobile). The segment of fixed line and Internet massively uses the opportunity to work through FOP, which provides significant tax benefits. From the received UAH 219 of income, under the simplified system, only UAH 10.95 of taxes are paid, while under the general system it would be UAH 75.34 – seven times more”, – Getmantsev wrote.
After such statements, the Internet Association of Ukraine appealed to the president to protect the small domestic telecom business from the initiatives of Hetmantsev, who, according to them, can act in favor of foreign competitors. The association noted that in recent months, some officials and politicians are trying to illegally cancel the right of small business enterprises – providers of Internet access services – to use a simplified taxation system.
InAU also emphasized that there are already several court decisions in favor of domestic operators who are challenging the illegal decisions of the tax office.
“Recently, top politicians have joined the protection of the interests of foreign owners of large telecom businesses in capturing the Ukrainian electronic communications market. InAU proves the groundlessness and groundlessness of such actions against small domestic telecom businesses and asks the President to intervene and assess the actions of relevant politicians and officials who knowingly or unknowingly destroy a critically important branch of the domestic economy during the war”, – stated in association
In addition, InAU drew attention to the fact that during the war, Ukrainian Internet providers play a critically important role in ensuring communication and access to information, which is an integral part of national security. Continued pressure on small telecom businesses may have negative consequences not only for entrepreneurs, but also for millions of Ukrainian Internet users.
