The military levy, 1.5% of income, paid by Ukrainians since the outbreak of war, is supposed to be used to provide for the needs of the army. However, in fact, after getting into the budget these funds seem to "dissolve" in it as there is no mechanism for distribution of the said finances. And this involves really a substantial amount of money.
Over the period of the military levy existence, the state budget got UAH 131.9 billion. These are the data of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine published by StateWatch. Such an approach makes it impossible to control the amount of money spent to provide for the needs of the army. If it is assumed that the general fund is distributed proportionally between all national needs, the army is likely to annually get approximately 10% of the levy, namely up to UAH 3 billion instead of possible UAH 28.6 billion.
"In 2021, the budget for defence procurements amounted to UAH 22.6 billion. This means that the military levy solely could provide for solving the issue of defence procurements or multiply it by two. But nobody knows whether the money is actually spent to provide for the needs of the army", says Serhiy Prytula, a volunteer. He substantiates his opinion in the video blog. Recently, draft law No. 6566 was registered in the Verkhovna Rada. It aims at introducing amendments to the budget code in order that the levy is credited to the special-purpose fund.
In case the draft law is adopted, the collected money will be spent exclusively to provide for the needs of the army. NAKO supports this initiative as it contributes to the defence potential of the Ukrainian army.
Over the period of the military levy existence, the state budget got UAH 131.9 billion. These are the data of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine published by StateWatch. Such an approach makes it impossible to control the amount of money spent to provide for the needs of the army. If it is assumed that the general fund is distributed proportionally between all national needs, the army is likely to annually get approximately 10% of the levy, namely up to UAH 3 billion instead of possible UAH 28.6 billion.
"In 2021, the budget for defence procurements amounted to UAH 22.6 billion. This means that the military levy solely could provide for solving the issue of defence procurements or multiply it by two. But nobody knows whether the money is actually spent to provide for the needs of the army", says Serhiy Prytula, a volunteer. He substantiates his opinion in the video blog. Recently, draft law No. 6566 was registered in the Verkhovna Rada. It aims at introducing amendments to the budget code in order that the levy is credited to the special-purpose fund.
In case the draft law is adopted, the collected money will be spent exclusively to provide for the needs of the army. NAKO supports this initiative as it contributes to the defence potential of the Ukrainian army.