Law of Ukraine No. 1539-IX of June 15, 2021 “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and Other Laws of Ukraine on Stimulating the De-Shadowing of Incomes and Enhancing Citizens’ Tax Culture by Introducing the One-Time (Special) Voluntary Declaration of Assets Belonging to Individuals and Payment of the One-Time Levies to the Budget”, entered into force on July 21, 2021 (published in the Holos Ukrainy No. 134 of July 20, 2021).

Law No. 1539-IX creates incentives for removing income hidden from taxation from the shadows and will help attract additional resources to the Ukrainian economy.

The Law defines the specifics of conducting a one-time (special) voluntary declaration of assets of individuals, which will take place from September 1, 2021 to September 1, 2022.

Citizens of Ukraine have the right to submit a one-time voluntary declaration indicating the assets owned by them and from which taxes and fees have not been paid before January 1, 2021. At the same time, the voluntary declaration will not need to indicate information about the sources of origin of the declared assets.

The declarant may indicate among the assets currency values (except for cash), securities, movable and immovable property, in particular, objects under construction, shares in the property of legal entities located in Ukraine or abroad.

From the declared assets, the citizen will have to pay a fee, in particular, 5% for currency values on bank accounts in Ukraine, as well as other assets located (registered) in Ukraine; 9% for currency values on accounts in foreign financial institutions, as well as for other assets located abroad; 2.5% for the nominal value of government bonds of Ukraine purchased by the declarant in the period from September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2022.

If a citizen pays all the necessary fees, the state guarantees him/her exemption from liability for violation of tax and currency legislation. It also guarantees non-disclosure by state bodies and their officials of information contained in one-time voluntary tax returns, without a corresponding court decision.

In addition, the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences, the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine in Connection with the Introduction of Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine on Stimulating the De-Shadowing of Incomes and Enhancing Citizens’ Tax Culture by Introducing the One-Time (Special) Voluntary Declaration of Assets Belonging to Individuals and Payment of the One-Time Levies to the Budget” No. 1542-IX of June 15, 2021.

This Law is systematically linked to the previous one (No. 1539-IX) and proposes not to consider deliberate evasion of taxes and fees if such acts are related to the acquisition of objects that the citizen indicated in a one-time voluntary tax return and paid the agreed amount of the tax return fee if such acts were committed before 2021.

It is also established that the above data cannot be used to confirm the guilt of a suspect accused of committing criminal offenses regarding tax and fee evasion (provided for in Articles 212, 212-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Laws No. 1539 and No. 1542 are published in the Holos Ukrainy No. 134 of July 20, 2021.

Law No. 1539 comes into force on the day following the day of its publication, except for certain clauses that will come into force on January 1, 2022:

  • subclause 3, clause 2, Section I of this Law (concerning amendments to subclause 1.7, clause 16-1, Subsection 10, Section XX “Transitional Provisions”);
  • subclause 4, clause 2, Section II of this Law (concerning amendments to subclause 5, clause 98, Section I of Law No. 1266).

Law No. 1542 comes into force on the day following the day of its publication, but no earlier than the day of entry into force of Law No. 1539.