Photo: Press Service of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
On April 8, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted draft law No. 15111-d in its first reading, amending the Tax Code regarding the taxation of digital platforms. The decision was supported by 234 members of parliament.
The draft law, which has been revised in parliamentary committees, no longer includes provisions on taxing second-hand goods, special accounts, or access to bank secrecy. It is expected to be further refined before the second reading.
The bill is part of Ukraine’s commitments to the International Monetary Fund. Its goal is to introduce an international automatic exchange of information on income earned through digital platforms, by implementing OECD Model Rules for reporting by digital platform operators and establishing a legal framework for transparent taxation.
The revised draft partially incorporates provisions from the main and alternative bills and improves them. In particular, it предусматривает:
- information exchange requirements covering both personal services and goods sales;
- simplified conditions for applying a preferential 5% tax rate on income earned via digital platforms, including for self-employed individuals, provided their platform activities differ from their registered business activities;
- clarification of requirements for tax agents — operators of non-resident platforms — as well as simplified reporting (once a year via a dedicated portal) and tax payment procedures (monthly in foreign currency);
- simplified procedures for paying tax obligations for individuals earning income via platforms, if income exceeds 834 minimum wages or exceeds the non-taxable threshold for goods sales.
Previously, similar provisions were rejected by parliament. In March, lawmakers voted against draft law No. 14025. Just weeks ago, the ruling “Servant of the People” faction also failed to pass government tax-increase bills, but has now shifted to support them.
An article by journalist Yevhen Plinsky, titled “Recall the ‘turbo regime’: how parliament will pass ‘anti-social’ tax laws (spoiler — for money),” described how rebellious MPs reportedly became a compliant majority within two weeks and discussed the potential cost to taxpayers.
