“The shadow economy is thriving,” said the MP, noting a significant slowdown in efforts to bring the economy out of the shadows

This was stated by Danylo Getmantsev, Chair of the Tax Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

During the discussion on the de-shadowing of the economy, the presenter noted that, according to Roksolana Pidlasa, budget revenue collection in the first two months has been challenging. She also said that for January–February this year, there has been a shortfall in budget revenue from both customs and tax sources. Separately, the presenter reminded viewers that the state budget had planned for 60 billion hryvnias in revenue from the de-shadowing of the economy, and asked whether this target could be met if the process had already been “stalling” since the start of the year.

In response, Danylo Getmantsev stated that he was dissatisfied with the pace of de-shadowing. According to him, in 2023 there were “brilliant results” – a surplus of $1.5 billion from de-shadowing, and in 2024 – a surplus of $2.5 billion from de-shadowing.

At the same time, he said that in 2025 there is a shortfall in the state budget of 30 billion hryvnias – more than 30 billion hryvnias. Getmantsev added that this takes into account the inclusion of reserves such as, in particular, the tax on banks’ excess profits.

He also said that a decision had been introduced and adopted to increase excise duties on tobacco. According to Getmantsev, a whole series of decisions had been adopted, thanks to which revenues had increased, “revenues simply increased mathematically”. At the same time, he said, the de-shadowing reserve had not been used or, “let’s put it this way”, had not been used to its full extent.

Separately, Getmantsev stated that there was also a shortfall in January. He said that January is a decent month for budget revenue, explaining this by the fact that the January figures reflect December, and December, in his words, is the best month of the year.

He attributed the shortfall in January to the fact that “we need to work better”. According to Getmantsev, law enforcement agencies need to work better, and the tax authorities need to work better. Regarding customs, he said that, in his opinion, “it’s such a quagmire, it’s a nightmare, a terrible one”.

As examples, he cited flower shops, restaurants and clothes shops. According to Getmantsev, in such places one can check what receipt is issued, or whether one is issued at all, or not issued, or whether a receipt from a sole trader is issued. He said this means they do not pay VAT, and the budget and the army are missing out on VAT revenue.

At the end of his speech, Getmantsev stated that the shadow economy, unlike the shadow economy that exists in any country in the world, “is not hidden”, but is “right in front of us” and “out in the open”. According to him, this is a “verdict” on both law enforcement and tax officials, who are supposed to combat this shadow economy.

As reported by The Public, against the backdrop of record growth in the shadow cigarette market, ESBU Director Oleksandr Tsyvinskyi travelled to the US to speak to American entrepreneurs about the business climate.