Ukraine budget revenue rises 2.5% yoy in 1H20

Ukraine’s state budget revenue rose 2.5% yoy to UAH 519.5
bln in 1H20, which is 6.2% below plan, the State Treasury provisionally
reported on July 1. Net tax revenue jumped 24.9% yoy to UAH 269.7 bln (0.6%
below plan) amid 15.0% yoy growth in gross tax revenue and a 10.3% yoy fall in
VAT reimbursement. Customs revenue plummeted 17.6% yoy to UAH 125.1 bln (21.4%
below plan).

Local budgets’ fiscal revenue improved 1.8% yoy to UAH
134.9 bln in 1H20, which is 10.0% below plan. Social payments (pension and
other social fund contributions paid by employers) advanced 5.2% yoy to UAH
132.2 bln.

In June alone, state budget revenue surged 63.7% yoy
to UAH 131.2 bln, which is 10.9% above plan. Net tax revenue more than doubled
to 89.1 bln (7.7% above plan) amid a 75.7% yoy surge in gross tax revenue and a
14.5% yoy decline in VAT reimbursement. Customs revenue fell 7.7% yoy to UAH
21.7 bln (0.1% above plan).

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: The budget
revenue surge in June came as a big surprise. Sliding VAT reimbursements is
apparently the result of falling exports, but the rise in gross tax revenue is
hard to explain given the continuing decline of Ukraine’s economy. More
detailed fiscal statistics should emerge at the end of the month to offer more
of an explanation of the phenomenal jump in budget collections.