The Ministry of Finance presented a new draft law containing Ukraine’s key tax obligations to the International Monetary Fund. The document covers four strategic areas that are part of the memorandum of cooperation.
Among the main proposals are the introduction of a tax on digital platforms (known as the “OLX tax”), the abolition of current benefits for duty-free import of international parcels worth up to 150 euros, and the establishment of a permanent military levy rate of 5%.
An important change is that this levy is proposed to be made mandatory for single tax payers even after the lifting of martial law. In addition, the government is initiating the introduction of VAT for simplified tax entities whose annual income exceeds 4 million hryvnias.
This is the second attempt by the Cabinet of Ministers to make relevant changes through the Verkhovna Rada. The previous plan, which was tried to be implemented from the beginning of 2026, failed: the deputies did not support the bill in the first reading. At that time, government officials hoped to make amendments to the “eternal” military levy and the abolition of benefits for parcels by the second reading, and to move the issue of VAT for individual entrepreneurs to a separate document. Since the first vote failed, the Ministry of Finance had to develop an updated version taking into account new realities and clarified creditors’ requirements.
Currently, the IMF’s position has become stricter regarding the deadlines for fulfilling obligations. Although the fund did not make these changes a prerequisite for providing a tranche, they received the status of structural beacons. “They all “migrated” to structural beacons.
Moreover, if earlier the IMF’s preliminary requirement was only the registration of the draft law on the introduction of VAT for individual entrepreneurs, now it requires the authorities to adopt the relevant changes along with other tax initiatives by the end of March,” experts note. Thus, the authorities have little time left for the final adoption of tax initiatives that will directly affect the country’s financial stability and business conditions.
