Getmantsev Proposed Abandoning the National Cash Reserve Fund to Facilitate Business Lending
The “Affordable Loans at 5–7–9%” program and the expansion of war risk insurance will require tens of billions of hryvnias. Danylo Getmantsev, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax, and Customs Policy, believes that the necessary funds can be found by reallocating inefficient budget expenditures.
According to Getmantsev, the state budget includes up to 50 billion hryvnias earmarked for programs that are not actually being utilized by the government.
“It has come to the point where, for one in five programs, the fund administrators have not even been able to complete the procedure and approve the budget program passport with the Ministry of Finance throughout the entire first quarter. The money has been allocated, but it’s just sitting there. This is a huge problem with spending efficiency,” the MP noted.
In his view, reallocating these funds could provide additional resources to support Ukrainian businesses, particularly through the “5-7-9%” program.
The chairman of the parliamentary committee cited the “National Cashback” program as one example of the inefficient use of public funds.
Getmantsev stated that he had spoken with entrepreneurs who, according to him, believe it would be more appropriate to direct these funds toward business lending.
Commenting on the arguments of former Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev regarding the program’s positive impact on the economy, the MP said:
“The effect of cashback on GDP growth is 0.10%—which is within the margin of statistical error. This was a populist mistake that must be abandoned, and the funds should be directed toward the ‘5-7-9%’ lending program,” he said.
The lawmaker also criticized the fuel subsidy program, calling it absurd, and the “National Cashback” program ineffective.
“It was a mistake that should be abandoned. Meanwhile, there were also sound social policy decisions,” Getmantsev said.
“National Cashback” is a government program designed to support citizens in purchasing Ukrainian goods, under which a portion of the amount spent is refunded to the buyer.
To participate, you must open a special card at a partner bank, authorize the transfer of transaction data, and add the card to the “Diya” app.
The amount of cashback depends on the product category. The accrued funds cannot be withdrawn as cash, but they can be used, for example, to pay for utilities, purchase medicines and books, or make donations to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Thus, Getmantsev proposes revising the funding for the “National Cashback” program and redirecting the freed-up resources toward affordable loans for entrepreneurs and the expansion of war risk insurance.
He made these remarks in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
As a reminder, the State Tax Service is tightening controls on entrepreneurs who sell goods without proper registration or who do not use cash registers or electronic cash registers. Tax officials will also monitor social media and messaging apps through which Ukrainians actively conduct online sales.
The tax service will automatically receive information about border crossings.
The State Tax Service has warned of a large-scale phishing attack targeting Ukrainians.
The State Tax Service has uncovered 10 networks that evaded taxes totaling over ₴1 billion.
