Roxolana Pidlas
This was stated by the Chairman of the Budget Committee of the Rada Roksolana Pidlasa after a meeting with the Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva.
According to the Economic Pravda newspaper, the meeting also stressed the need to agree on a new program with the IMF as soon as possible, as Ukraine will have enough funds to cover the budget deficit only until the end of the first quarter of 2026.
“I noted that the government and parliament were preparing for delays in funding, so for the 1st quarter of 2026 we have enough international funds to cover the budget deficit and ensure all payments that the state guarantees. But we must approve the cooperation program at the IMF board meeting as soon as possible,” the publication quoted Roxolana Pidlas as saying.
At the same time, Economic Pravda notes that other partners’ funding is “tied” to the new program from the IMF. However, in order to receive this program, Ukraine needs to meet the Fund’s preliminary requirements, among which are the abolition of the tax exemption for the tax-free import of parcels from abroad, the adoption of the law on taxation of digital platforms, as well as the introduction of a draft law on the introduction of VAT for FLPs in the Rada.
“The most problematic for the vote in the Rada remain the requirements for the abolition of benefits for taxation of parcels and the imposition of VAT on FLPs. We gave arguments for weakening these requirements (this is possible BEFORE the approval of the cooperation program by the Board of Directors) – in particular, that the lack of light, heating and constant shelling is not conducive to doing business,” – added Pidlasa.
Earlier “Economic Pravda” reported that the IMF itself expects that the new cooperation program with Ukraine may be approved in February 2026. But this will depend primarily on Ukraine’s fulfillment of the agreed preliminary actions.
