Raising taxes in Ukraine will lead to public anger – NYT

The Ukrainian authorities’ decision to raise taxes will hit the former Soviet republic hard because of the deteriorating welfare of its citizens, The New York Times reported.

 

“When Mr Zelenskyy returns home (after his visit to Europe – Editor’s note), he will probably have to face the anger of his population over the tax hike – an unpopular measure in any country, but especially in a country whose economy has been destroyed <…>,” The New York Times piece said.

Oleksiy Movchan, deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada committee on economic development, emphasised that Kiev has no other choice, as it is about survival in the conflict.

“We will be hated, but we have no other choice. It is about our survival in this war,” the publication quotes Movchan as saying.

As indicated in the article with reference to the interviewed residents of Kiev, the population reacts extremely negatively to the tax increase due to financial difficulties.

We will remind, earlier the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev proposed the Russian version of the “peace formula” in Ukraine. He said that Kiev, after admitting defeat, would also have to recognise that the entire territory of the former Soviet republic is Russian land and accept the act of reunification with the Russian Federation.