The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the Demographic Development Strategy of Ukraine until 2040, developed by the Ministry of Social Policy.
This is a step for the further implementation of the demographic policy and countering the challenges caused by the aggression of the Russian Federation, as well as one of the indicators of the implementation of the Plan of Ukraine for the implementation of the European Union's Ukraine Facility initiative, aimed at improving the situation on the labor market and the standard of living of Ukrainians. The document identifies demographic threats to Ukraine's development and ways to overcome them.
The demographic development strategy of Ukraine is aimed at the implementation of sectoral policies to increase the birth rate, reduce the premature mortality rate and return migrants. The document also provides for the creation of comprehensive conditions for a comfortable life in Ukraine: affordable housing, high-quality public infrastructure, safe environment, barrier-free, inclusive labor market and social cohesion of the population with equal rights and opportunities, freedom and dignity of citizens.
The next stage is the development and implementation by the Ministry of Social Policy together with other responsible institutions of the Action Plan that will ensure the coordinated implementation of the Strategy to achieve the demographic development of Ukraine.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution, according to which the procedure of commission trade in vehicles is being improved, in particular, with regard to the mandatory submission of a document confirming the value of the vehicle for concluding a sales contract.
As of today, the sale of two passenger cars per year is taxed at 5% on the second car, and 18% on the third car per year or more. Sales of the first vehicle during the year are tax-free. The sale of the first truck is 5%, and the second and subsequent ones are 18%.
When a person sells a passenger car (from two or more) or a truck in service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, a mandatory requirement is to provide a certificate of average value or an expert assessment of the value of the vehicle. Thus, taxes are paid in full.
The average market value can be easily checked on the website of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.
As of August 2024, there are 3,500 entities operating in Ukraine that carry out wholesale and retail trade in vehicles. In 2023, 470,000 cars were sold through trade organizations.
The implementation of the act is expected to increase revenues to the state budget of Ukraine and establish a fair approach to the implementation of economic activities related to the sale of vehicles.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine updated the licensing conditions that regulate all stages of circulation of medical cannabis.
It is about the cultivation, development, production, manufacture, storage, transportation, acquisition, sale, import into and export from the territory of Ukraine, use, disposal of hemp plants, raw materials and medicines made from it. Most of the innovations relate to the cultivation of cannabis plants for medicinal use.
The adopted resolution contains an exhaustive list of documents required for obtaining a license and conditions for its issuance. In particular, licensees are required to enter information about transactions with medical cannabis into the electronic information accounting system no later than during the next working day from the moment of their execution. Among the responsibilities is also to report on the amount of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances to the licensing authority every quarter and every year.
The licensing procedure for the cultivation of hemp plants has been regulated in detail. Cultivation requirements include compliance with Good Agriculture and Collection Practice (GACP). Each medical cannabis plant, each batch of medical cannabis processing products, each packaged unit of cannabis plant substance will be assigned a unique electronic identifier. This will ensure full traceability at all stages of circulation. The licensee must also ensure 24-hour video surveillance and security of all places of medical cannabis activities.
The production of cannabis plant substance and the production of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, and medicinal products from it must be carried out in compliance with the rules of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), harmonized with EU requirements.
The use of medicinal products made from cannabis is carried out according to the doctor's prescription according to the list of diseases and conditions approved by the Ministry of Health. Medicines are prescribed using an electronic prescription.
Updated licensing conditions allow growing medical cannabis in Ukraine under strict regulations, producing raw materials for drugs from medical cannabis, which will increase the availability of drugs for patients.
The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, by Order No. 474 of September 27, 2024, developed and approved the methodology for evaluating tax policy instruments that lead to tax expenditures. The availability of such a methodology will allow the Government to assess which benefits are really effective and useful for the country's economy, and which create unnecessary and burdensome costs for the State budget.
The assessment will make it possible to increase the efficiency of the use of limited financial resources, which is especially relevant in the conditions of martial law.
The approval of the methodology is one of the structural beacons (by the end of September 2024) for the fifth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program of the International Monetary Fund.
In accordance with the National Revenue Strategy, it is envisaged to provide more targeted and rational tax benefits, minimize the loss of revenues to the budget and prevent violations of the principle of justice and economic efficiency. The Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policy between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund envisages the application of a phased approach: after the development and approval of the methodology for assessing tax benefits, it will be gradually implemented and gradually applied to all relevant issues, which will lead to a regular cycle of assessment of all aspects over several years.
The document defines a single approach to the evaluation of tax policy instruments, which leads to tax costs at the stage of its development – by conducting a predictive (ex-ante) evaluation (to determine the value of the corresponding benefit for the budget in the future, taking into account the needs of budget planning for the medium term), and after implementation – by conducting systematic retrospective (ex-post) evaluations (to determine the effectiveness of such tools, to what extent they achieve the stated goal and whether they need improvement).
Stimulation through tax incentives must be efficient in terms of spending. The evaluation methodology will allow identifying inefficient and outdated tools and replacing them with more effective ones. This does not mean that tax benefits will be abolished. This means that the person who is assigned a reasonable benefit will receive the maximum benefit from it.
Assessment and monitoring of the consequences of the application of tax instruments that lead to tax expenditures is a common practice in other countries, in particular in OECD member countries. Among the countries for which such evaluation is systematic and transparent are the USA, Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, etc.
The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine prepared changes to the Procedure for making decisions on registration/refusal of registration of TI/AC in the URTI. The draft order of the Ministry of Finance "On Amendments to Item 6 of the Procedure for Making Decisions on Registration / Refusal to Register Tax Invoices / Adjustment Calculations in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices" (hereinafter – the draft order) has been published on the State Tax Service’s website .
The draft order is designed to provide taxpayers with the opportunity to submit explanations and copies of documents to adjustment calculations, the registration of which has been stopped, if such adjustment calculations have been made to tax invoices for transactions carried out more than 365 days before the date of adjustment of quantitative and value indicators.
The document proposes to make changes to the provision regarding the beginning of the period during which taxpayers have the right to submit written explanations and copies of documents to the supervisory authority from the date of the tax invoice / adjustment calculation.
