The heads of leading business associations that are members of the Ukrainian Business Council called on the government to abandon the “National Cashback” program. The participants made this statement during a meeting with the IMF’s permanent representative in Ukraine, Prishila Tofano, and the fund’s experts.
The business representatives emphasized that the state program to support national producers “Cashback in Ukrainian” actually discriminates against small businesses and creates unequal competition conditions. According to them, the situation can only be corrected if the program is extended to entrepreneurs working under the simplified taxation system and its criteria are revised, or the initiative is completely canceled.
The meeting also discussed the fiscal effect of subsidizing large retail chains and the tax burden on business under different taxation systems.
The need to make changes to the “National Cashback” was discussed back in January of this year. At that time, business associations from different regions of Ukraine, which unite representatives of small and medium-sized businesses, stated that the program significantly distorts competition, giving preference to large retail chains and not covering small or micro-entrepreneurs.
Among the main shortcomings of the program, business calls excessive regulation of procedures and the exclusion from it of entrepreneurs working under the simplified taxation system. In addition, about 700 thousand citizens did not receive payments because they did not have time to activate their cards in the “Diya” application in a timely manner.
