Draft

Parliament took step towards exempting self-employed persons from UST payment

The Verkhovna Rada adopted Draft Law No. 2166, which established exemption of persons conducting independent professional activity from making unified social tax payments.

Under current legislation, unified social taxpayers are divided into individual entrepreneurs and persons conducting independent professional activity.

Establishing the obligation of UST payment without income does not meet the legal purpose of state regulation of this type of relationship and is inconsistent within the context of the Law itself, where the object of UST accrual is defined as income received, as stated in the explanatory note.

Following the opinion of the parliamentary budget committee, the Ministry of Finance noted the risks of reducing the revenue side of the Pension Fund and the Social Insurance Fund budgets in the event of the draft being adopted in its final reading.

Legalization of lobbying activities in Ukraine proposed

The Draft Law On State Registration of Lobbying Entities and Lobbying Activities Conduct in Ukraine has been registered in Parliament.

The document is intended to legalize lobbying activities in Ukraine and create a register of lobbying companies and lobbyists enabling anyone who so wishes to receive information on their activities for free.

The Draft Law determines lobbying as the activity of an individual or a legal entity carried out from the time of state registration and for a monetary reward according to the terms of a concluded agreement on lobbying services, aimed at fulfilling the terms and provisions of such an agreement, as well as preparation, planning, coordination, research, other auxiliary activities, which are intended to fulfil the terms and provision of the agreement on provision of lobbying services when conducted.

Moreover, the Draft establishes the definition of a person who has the right to be a subject of lobbying, rights and obligations of lobbying entities, mechanisms and tools for conducting such activities. The law also envisages mechanisms for monitoring activities in relation to lobbying entities. Amongst other things it establishes criminal liability for the provision of false information in the electronic registry of lobbyists.

According to the Draft, lobbying organizations cannot be financed from the state budget of Ukraine.