MP Vitalii Bezgin shared his thoughts on the five resolutions that the Parliament is set to adopt to improve the financial capacity of communities and balance the development of territories.

One. Change the approach to calculating personal income tax.

‘There are currently 14 draft laws registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine offering different approaches, but it is clear to everyone that the current model is the worst. In my opinion, the best first step would be to split it 50/50 between the location of production facilities and the place of residence of the employee. At Ukraine’s current stage of development, this is the fairest model and will boost the budgets of small communities with active leaders,’ said the MP.

Two. Administration of local taxes.

Vitalii Bezgin says that legislative changes are needed to significantly improve the data exchange system.

Three. Raising administrative fees to adequate levels.

The MP noted that communities, especially small ones, would never be interested in high-quality service provision if the cost of the service were ten times higher than the current tariffs, which fluctuate between 17 and 85 kopiikas.

Four. De-politicisation of the allocation of local budgets.

‘I am convinced that the problem of some communities forgetting about all territories except the central locality lies in the deep partisanship of local councils, which has led to most local councillors representing the central locality. Raising the threshold requirement without parties to at least 35,000–50,000 voters would improve governance and balance the distribution of budgets,’ believes Vitalii Bezgin.

Five. Full implementation of transparency mechanisms.

According to the MP, without transparency, there will be no public trust and confidence on the part of European partners, and, accordingly, no funds for reconstruction.

‘The Verkhovna Rada has done its job here, but some communities have been quite creative in implementing the law. For example, they publish videos of sessions without sound or complain to law enforcement agencies about active residents who cover the things that should be covered by the local authorities themselves. Additional regulation will be introduced,’ said Vitalii Bezgin.

As reported earlier, Vitalii Bezgin named seven important draft laws for local self-government to be adopted in the first six months of 2025.