The IMF agreed to grant Ukraine another tranche of a loan worth USD 700 million. – Bloomberg reported on Friday. The agreement was concluded even though the Ukrainian parliament did not adopt the law on taxation of foreign shipments required by the IMF.
The IMF and the government in Kiev have reached an agreement at the working level on a loan worth $700 million. According to Bloomberg, the disbursement of funds will still require approval by the Fund's management board next month.
- Ukraine's record spending on defense. EU funds helped
War in Ukraine. The international community is helping the government in Kiev
According to Bloomberg, the IMF agreed to postpone the deadline for Ukraine to adopt the required law until July this year. Parliament did not adopt it earlier due to public opposition. The regulation assumes a 20% tax on shipments from abroad with a value exceeding EUR 45. VAT rate and additional fees, which worried many Ukrainian citizens who often buy goods from abroad.
Earlier, the IMF agreed to delay a legislative commitment to impose VAT on certain groups of self-employed entrepreneurs. Ukraine was supposed to introduce the changes by April this year
- Trump may be right. The US did not weaken Europe, it did it itself. And now he is looking for those responsible [KOMENTARZ]
The prolonged war led to a significant increase in Ukraine's budget deficit, forcing the government to look for new sources of income. The budget gap is largely financed with help from foreign partners, including the IMF, Bloomberg noted.
Kiev has committed to introducing legislative changes in 2025 as conditions for a loan program worth $8.1 billion. Despite repeated delays in implementing the reform schedule, the IMF decided to continue disbursements under the four-year aid program, adopting an extremely flexible stance.
IMF with a support program for Ukraine
This is the second IMF loan program for Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022. In 2023, the Fund approved a four-year program worth $15.6 billion. Previously, the IMF avoided lending to countries at war.
- The European Union has adopted the draft budget. Gigantic money for Ukraine
As Bloomberg emphasized, the IMF program is crucial not only because of financing issues, but also because it constitutes an important signal to other donors, including the European Union. On April 23 this year, the EU approved a two-year aid package worth EUR 90 billion for Ukraine, making part of the support conditional on meeting conditions similar to those of the IMF, including higher taxation of foreign shipments.
In January this year Managing Director of the IMF visited Kyiv.
