The head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation, and Customs Policy, Daniil Hetmantsev, suggests implementing military censorship of expenditures and extending the guaranteed preferential financing of ERA amounting to $50 billion not for one year, but for three years amid future uncertainties.
As Hetmantsev stated in a Telegram channel on Friday, there is a direct link between international political events and Ukrainian finances, which means Ukraine needs to critically reassess and consolidate all available internal financial sources and resources, essentially "counting every penny."
"For the state - it is finally time to strictly eliminate the shadow economy and corruption. We must root out thieves from power. They are enemies, worse than the Russians. We should start evaluating the work of tax authorities and law enforcement based on the actual elimination of the shadow economy, based on the results in revenue figures, not on the number of criminal cases initiated," the committee head stated.
According to him, any pretense must be removed. Just from the work of the State Tax Service, Ukraine should effortlessly receive over $4 billion from de-shadowing by 2025, and if efforts are intensified, the amount could be significantly higher.
"And we need to introduce military censorship of expenditures. We cannot allow pointless spending on the experiments of individual ministers, such as the failed cashback program, which yielded a GDP "increase" less than the statistical error. We must extend the guaranteed preferential financing of $50 billion not for one year, but for three years," Hetmantsev emphasized.
He added that total de-shadowing and savings are what is currently required.
Furthermore, Hetmantsev advised Ukrainian society to finally mature and stop tolerating tax evasion, as well as discussions about the detrimental impact of an additional 3.5% VAT. After all, according to him, anyone who steals taxes in any form is an enemy and is just as much a thief as those in power.
Hetmantsev explained that Ukraine has been in a period of high turbulence since March 2022. Support, including financial, from strategic partners is not guaranteed. This also affects the EU, where some uncomfortable political discussions for Ukraine are beginning.
He noted that despite relative financial security this year, it indicates increased uncertainty for 2026 and beyond, primarily as the ERA tool ($50 billion from revenues through frozen Russian bank assets) becomes exhausted.
As reported, in June 2024, G7 summit participants in Italy reached a political agreement on using revenues from frozen Russian assets to assist Ukraine (the ERA mechanism). This involved providing Kyiv with loans amounting to $50 billion by the end of this year. It is expected that the USA will contribute about $20 billion, the EU - EUR18.115 billion (around $20 billion), Japan - 471.9 billion yen (about $3.1 billion), and the UK - GBP2.26 billion (nearly $3 billion at the current exchange rate).
The International Monetary Fund, in its updated program following the fifth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), noted that if the war ends by late 2025, Ukraine will need $33.1 billion from the aforementioned $50 billion to support its budget: $19.1 billion next year, $9.2 billion in 2026, and $4.9 billion in 2027. In a negative scenario where the war continues until mid-2026, Ukraine's budget will require the full $50 billion to cover the deficit.