Earn, save, don't buy cars: Getmantsev spoke about the money the country lives on and gave advice to Ukrainians

Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Daniil Getmantsev in an interview with the publication "Glavcom" he spoke about why duties on cars from abroad were returned, gave advice to Ukrainians for the future, told why the military tax rate is increasing and answered many questions that Ukrainians are interested in. We publish the main thing from his interview.

About the "Euro-plates" and the increase in the military levy

Getmantsev says that the reasons for the increase in the rate of military duty for the war do not need to be explained. “Today, the absolute priority is the needs of the army, so there is a consolidation of all available reserves. This is one of them. EThe effect is about a billion dollars a year,” — he says.

He also noted that "only an idiot can be negative about cheap cars, because that's not the problem." According to him, the problem is injustice, “when an entire business was generating income through tax evasion. This is completely unacceptable. In fact, we stopped it even before the war.”

“The permission to import cheap cars for everyone was due to the fact that a huge number of vehicles were destroyed as a result of hostilities. People were given the opportunity to restore them. But this again led to the flourishing of business in order to avoid taxation and huge queues at customs.. It turns out a shocking thing for our partners: on the one hand, we are asking the whole world for money for the war, and on the other, we are spending our own on kilometer-long queues of cars at the border. Questions also arise from the military, who cannot import a car,” the politician says.

On the loss of the economic potential of Ukraine

Getmantsev said that Ukraine has lost a lot in metal production. If before the war they produced 20 million tons, now it is 8 million tons less, because some plants have been destroyed. “As for agricultural production, we have sown 80% of the area - a good result, but still it is 80%, not 100%. Of course, as a result of the occupation, we are losing economic potential, but there is no disaster. As yet there are no concrete figures", He says.

On the evacuation of enterprises from combat areas

The official noted that 60% of employees who worked before February 24 returned to work. There are also destroyed enterprises - for example, in Kherson there is a huge egg factory. “But we are fighting for every enterprise – from the war zones, where there is a threat of occupation, we are moving to the west of Ukraine. Already 450 enterprises have been relocated and their number is growing daily. We have one and a half thousand companies constantly at work,” - he says.

Getmantsev noted that both large and small enterprises were being evacuated and stressed that metallurgical evacuation is impossible.

About benefits for business, assistance in the amount of 6500 UAH from the state and humanitarian aid

Getmantsev noted that he does not see a big loss from the fact that small enterprises were exempted from paying taxes. But because of the benefits at customs, he sees big losses - about a billion dollars, and now they will be liquidated. "And let small businesses work, provide for themselves and do not require assistance from the state.”, He says.

The journalist of the publication noted that even those who did not stay in the country now receive a one-time assistance of 6500 UAH from the state. At the same time, wages are being cut within the country due to the economic situation. He asked the official: do you see a certain imbalance in this?

“People get help from the state for losing their jobs. Unfortunately, we had and still have a large part of the shadow economy and there are no mechanisms to provide targeted assistance to those who really need it. And weed out those who don't really need it.", said the head of the committee.

He noted that the majority of citizens receive this assistance justifiably, and this is the most important thing. If someone receives without proper reason - it fits into the allowable loss based on the circumstances.

Hetmantsev also noted that he knew that гthey sell humanitarian aid. According to him, this is looting. “War is perceived by most of our people as an evil that must be fought against by uniting, but there are certain individuals who use it for their own enrichment. It's garbage," he says.

He noted that the migrants are mainly located in the west of Ukraine. The official noted that “I would not make any restrictions on the territorial principle here, but, of course, I would increase control over the distribution of this assistance.” When asked by a journalist about how this can be done, Getmantsev noted that starting from customs “Obligatory inspection and subsequent control over the movement of aid, up to the end user. And we must do this in order not to discredit humanitarian aid as such,”  the politician said.

On advice to Ukrainians

“I would advise them not to buy cars or invest in long-term commodities. I recommend saving money, earning money even if you are paid less than before the war, and planning your life for the post-war period, when the economy will recover and grow. We will still build a rich European country the way we planned it before the war, but in slightly different conditions,” — advises the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy.

When asked by a journalist that a washing machine is now conditionally not the kind of item worth investing in, Getmantsev said that it is possible to be patient with the purchase. “If I have some savings, then, given that hostilities have not yet ended, it is logical to save these savings as a last resort. If I buy a washing machine today, it will probably not be a smart enough investment for me. You can be patient with the old, - he says.

Answering the question about the currency in which he advises to keep savings, Getmantsev noted that the hryvnia is a stable currency, “unlike, by the way, the ruble. People trust her and do the right thing.”

About what money Ukraine lives on now

He noted that the March budget was overfulfilled even in terms of peaceful indicators, the April budget was overfulfilled in terms of the tax service, but significantly underfulfilled in terms of customs revenues. The reason is the already mentioned decision to exempt the goods supplied from taxation in order to avoid possible shortages.

“But the costs of war cost the budget four times more than in relatively peacetime. The peace budget is not enough, even though we have cut all development spending, all capital spending. Therefore, we need the help of partners and the placement of domestic government bonds. During the last issue, we placed such military bonds for UAH 13 billion, but this is not enough”, the politician says.

Of the money borrowed by partners, a very small amount goes directly to the budget and can be used for expenses. Most of this assistance is military, non-monetary, and assistance to our neighboring countries to accommodate refugees. “We are working to increase the volume of this assistance. According to the Ministry of Finance, shortfalls in the state budget today amount to $ 5-7 billion per month. We must compensate for this hole with the help of our partners. The situation is complex and changes weekly. The fight is for every penny that will allow us to survive "- said Getmantsev.

We previously reported that why there is not enough money for the army and where they are going to get it.