Leaders of leading business associations held a regular meeting with IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine Ms. Priscila Tofano and IMF experts

On April 8, 2025, a regular meeting was held between the International Monetary Fund team in Ukraine and the heads of leading business associations, members of the Ukrainian Business Council.

At the meeting, representatives of the business community spoke about the priorities of business associations in 2025 and had the opportunity to exchange views with the IMF team on changes that will help to restore the economy and improve the business climate in the country.

The discussion also focused on institutional reforms relevant to the country. In 2024, important reforms of the BES, the SMS, and the AC were introduced at the legislative level, which provide for a complete reboot of these bodies with the participation of international experts. The State Tax Service also needs to be transformed according to the same algorithm. Transparency and accountability of regulatory authorities is an important aspect of building business confidence in government institutions. The approaches to assessing the performance of government agencies (STS, SMS and BES) also need to be changed to be in line with modern practices used in developed countries. The Government’s plans to introduce criteria for assessing the effectiveness of the State Tax and Customs Services by analyzing tax gaps, conducting electronic audits and implementing effective anti-corruption measures remain unrealized. Members of Parliament of Ukraine initiated draft laws No. 12359 and 12360, which introduce high-quality KPIs for the tax and customs services, and leading business associations have emphasized the importance of adopting these draft laws as soon as possible.

Discussing the work of the tax authorities, they touched upon the shortcomings of tax administration, existing tax benefits (including benefits for international parcels that distort competition) and existing tax evasion opportunities that contribute to the functioning of the shadow economy.

Business representatives noted that the state’s support programs for domestic producers, such as the Cashback for Ukrainian, distort competition in the market and discriminate against small businesses. Revising the program criteria and expanding them to include STS entities that use digital tools for payments will promote equal competition and de-shadowing.

The panelists representing the IT industry also shared their vision of demonopolization in the IT sector and enabling private entities to create a part of public e-services, and provided successful examples of such cases from international experience.

Particular attention was paid to the discussion of the introduction of clear labor criteria to distinguish freelancers/self-employed from employees. The current labor legislation is outdated and needs to be amended to take into account the specifics of innovative industries. The leaders of business associations emphasized the importance of maintaining a stable business environment, and argued for the need to maintain the current simplified taxation system and revise the section on the simplified system in the National Revenue Strategy 2030, which currently provides for increased discretion and corruption risks.

During the discussion on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code that provide for unlimited terms of consideration of cases, business representatives argued that the application of such an approach would have an extremely negative impact on the business climate in the country. According to the business, a differentiated approach should be applied, and unlimited terms of consideration of cases should be left exclusively for criminal cases of corruption offenses investigated by the NABU and the SIB. At the same time, in proceedings against business entities, the terms of pre-trial consideration of cases should be clearly defined and contain the necessary safeguards to ensure a prompt and impartial investigation.

Following the discussion, IMF representatives and representatives of business associations agreed to further systematic cooperation and regular meetings on issues of priority for the Ukrainian economy.