Ukraine budget revenue rises 13% in 1H19, below plan
3 July 2019
Ukraine’s 1H19 state budget revenue rose 12.9% yoy to
UAH 507 bln, which is 5.0% below plan, the State Treasury provisionally
reported on July 2. Net tax revenue increased 13.6% yoy to UAH 216 bln
(0.4% below plan). Customs revenue increased 1.2% yoy to UAH 152 bln (10.2%
below plan).
Local budgets fiscal revenue improved 17.5% yoy to UAH
132 bln in 1H19, which is 0.6% above plan. Social payments (pension and other
social fund contributions paid by employers) advanced 21.9% yoy to UAH 131 bln.
In June alone, Ukraine’s state budget revenue rose
1.0% yoy to UAH 80 bln, which is 17.8% yoy below plan. Net tax receipts surged
70.1% yoy to UAH 44 bln, which is 46.9% above plan. In particular, general tax
revenue climbed 62.2% yoy to UAH 57 bln, while VAT reimbursement increased
41.1% yoy to UAH 14 bln. Customs revenue declined 3.9% yoy to UAH 23 bln, which
is 17.7% below plan. At the same time, the budget revenue from “other
ministries and sate bodies” plunged 81.5% yoy to UAH 3.9 bln.
Evgeniya Akhtyrko: The overall
trend in budget collection didn’t change much in June from the previous month:
tax collections continue to be strong even amid significant VAT reimbursement,
while customs performance remains very poor. Apparently, relatively slow import
growth, coupled with appreciation of the national currency, are restraining the
growth of customs collections. However, the major reason for the chronic
customs underperformance is notorious corruption in this government body.
So far, the government is managing to compensate low
custom revenues with the strong flow of tax revenue and increased debt
financing. However, it is unclear how long such a situation might endure amid relatively weak economic growth.
