“They will ask to share”: in Ukraine they can introduce a universal declaration of property

The authorities of Ukraine intend to oblige ordinary citizens to regularly report to the state on their property and savings. The corresponding proposal was made to the Verkhovna Rada by the non-factional deputy Sergei Taruta. The bill number 9405 states that before May 1, 2021, all citizens of the republic, the total value of movable and immovable property exceeds UAH 2 million ($ 70 thousand), will have to file detailed tax returns. In addition, it will be necessary to separately report if assets in possession are more expensive than UAH 150 thousand ($ 5.4 thousand), for example, art objects, cars, bank accounts, jewelry, yachts, etc.

"A lot of additional problems"

“This concerns the majority of the population of Ukraine. People may not have large savings, valuables or expensive cars. But almost everyone has a property that can be valued much more than 2 million UAH. Therefore, people will definitely have to study the specifics of completing the declaration, ”says an RT source in the Ministry of Finance.

The author of the bill does not see the need to determine the sources of income in each particular case, however, if a “suspiciously” expensive property is identified, its owners will have to explain to the authorities its origin. In addition, it is assumed that representatives of supervisory authorities will be authorized to verify the accuracy of all the data specified in the declaration. Now citizens can be asked to confirm the source of funds only when they make a large purchase - an apartment or a new car.

• The woman at the currency exchange in the center of Kiev
• RIA News

“No one in Ukraine can guarantee that the very next day all this data will not be in the hands of fraudsters. After all, such an information base will greatly facilitate their “work”. They will know who has a valuable piece of art at home, and who has a large amount of money in the bank. And who will protect these people, if they suddenly knock on the door, for example, the radicals and "ask" to share? Police? Or maybe deputies of the Verkhovna Rada? Everyone knows that in Ukraine you can buy any information, even confidential, ”says the RT source in the Batkivshchyna party.

Kiev resident Irina Golubeva, in an interview with RT, noted that she was afraid to include a list of her property in the declaration. According to her, law enforcement officials may come at any time and recount all available cash, examine the documents for the apartment and ask them to show the declared jewelry.

“I'm not talking about the fact that I have to go to a specialist and order an assessment of the value of an apartment, a car and other assets. And judging by what is written in the bill, this procedure will have to be carried out every year. This is not only a lot of additional problems, but also costs, ”she says.

As the RT source in the government stressed, the bill is likely to be approved by the parliament, since 40% of the economy is in the shadow, people receive wages “in envelopes” and, accordingly, do not pay taxes.

“It is becoming more and more difficult for the state to form a fund for paying pensions, to provide benefits and subsidies. And the only way out is to control the payment of taxes, ”he says.

The Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Reva previously offered to tax the incomes of Ukrainian labor migrants, which they receive abroad.

In a special position

At the same time, the draft law provides for certain privileges for deputies, officials, law enforcement officials and judges, who submit electronic declarations from September 2016.

According to the initiative two years ago, in reporting documents they are obliged to list not only all their movable and immovable property, but also deposits, cash, jewelry and expensive items of clothing. For errors in the declarations criminal liability. Nevertheless, despite the potential severe sanctions, in reality only a few “servants of the people” reported to the state reliably.

“Almost all the declarants have hidden part of their assets, because they cannot report on what funds certain assets were bought. Since 2016, the declarations and the information indicated in them have not been verified - this is an informal agreement between the country's leadership and officials, ”the RT source in the Radical Party said.

Now, in order to avoid possible incidents related to the upcoming general declaration, the new law contains a proposal to legalize property from June 1, 2019 to October 1, 2020, for some reason not specified in previously submitted declarations of people's representatives. To do this, the budget must pay 5% of the total value of the undeclared property and receive in return a state certificate. The source of funds for which expensive assets have been acquired is not necessary to indicate in this case.

• The building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in Kiev
• Reuters
• © Danil Shamkin

Sergey Taruta’s bill submitted to the Parliament is beneficial to the country's leadership and deputies, since it will allow to legitimize property acquired with the help of gray schemes, and at the same time avoid criminal liability for inaccurate information in declarations, a source in the Self Help party notes.

“On the sidelines of the parliament, people have long been talking about the need to adopt such a document in order to protect themselves in the future. And the price of the issue is low, "- emphasizes the source RT.

Experts explain the legislative initiative of the authorities to the desire to solve financial problems "at the expense of the population."

“Ukraine is an unstable country, and the rules of the game can change quickly. Why do the authorities propose to collect all the information about the resources of the population? May be asked to share? Or maybe we are talking about confiscation, ”suggested Andrei Koshkin, head of the department of political science and sociology at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, in an interview with RT.

As for Ukrainian officials, indeed, many of them did not declare their property, says RT President of the Ukrainian Center for System Analysis Rostislav Ischenko.

“Also absolutely in all political parties of Ukraine there are people with undeclared property. So, its legalization will be profitable for the budget in any case, ”he believes.

However, officials and deputies, as always, are trying to protect themselves and find loopholes in the law, notes Andrei Koshkin.

“They are preparing the ground in advance in order to avoid responsibility in case of a change of power. And the Ukrainian people will suffer again. In fact, ordinary people will pay for everything, ”the expert concluded.