Directions of review of the system of VAT reliefs in Ukraine

Abstract

In the conditions of searching for ways to fill the state budget, reforming the system of VAT reliefs, losses from which make up more than 70% of total losses from tax benefits in Ukraine, can be an effective alternative to raising tax rates. The purpose of the article is to determine the directions of revision of the system of VAT reliefs in Ukraine in the context of the implementation of the Association Agreement with the European Union and its Member States. The subject of the study are two forms of reliefs – exemptions from tax and the use of its reduced rates. In addition, validity of qualification of the operations specified in Art. 196 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, as those that are not subject to VAT taxation, is considered, and it is established how one or another transaction should be qualified in accordance with Council Directive 2006/112/EC. A comparative analysis of VAT reliefs in Ukraine and the EU countries has shown that in addition to exemptions similar to those provided in the Council Directive 2006/112/EC, the Tax Code of Ukraine includes exemptions from transactions that are allowed to be taxed with the Directive at reduced rates, as well as exemptions which are not provided by the Directive. On the other hand, some mandatory exemptions under Council Directive 2006/112/EC do not apply in Ukraine. There are certain inconsistencies in the definition of transactions, the taxation of which at reduced rates is provided in the Tax Code of Ukraine and in Council Directive 2006/112/EC. The established differences determine the possible directions of revision of the system of VAT reliefs in Ukraine. However, its real scale may be different. Ukraine can go both by minimizing the system of tax preferences by refusing not only the exemptions which are not provided by the Council Directive 2006/112/EC, but also by transforming certain exemptions into taxation at a reduced rate, and by maximizing the opportunities for preferential taxation provided by the Directive. It is concluded that the choice of a certain kind of path will be influenced by the following factors: uncertainty of Ukraine’s accession to the EU, which puts our country not in such a rigid framework in the context of compliance with EU legislation as candidate countries; the state of public finances in our country: the need to expand the fiscal space and the possibility (their absence) of its expansion at the expense of sources not related to tax benefits; the presence of political will at the leadership of the state to optimize tax preferences.