1. On exemption from land taxation of railway transport land
Almost 80% of the railway land on which infrastructure facilities are located is state-owned. At the same time, railway companies spend about UAH 5 billion annually on the maintenance of these facilities, their reconstruction and modernisation. And all this is due to the cancellation of the land tax exemption of 25% of the accrued tax from 1 January 2019.
In response to the delegates of the Trade Union Conference’s appeal on this issue, the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine replied that they fully support the renewal of the preferential norm for railway transport land by setting a minimum level of land tax and they had already expressed their support for the relevant draft laws in the Verkhovna Rada.
The Ministry of Finance, in its response to the trade union, noted that local budgets would lose out, so the decision can only be made by local governments themselves.
2. On the unconditional implementation of Article 10 of the Law ‘On Railway Transport’
In the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025, it is planned to allocate expenditures for the Ministry of Development to implement a public investment project for the purchase of passenger railcars — over UAH 4.4 billion; and to co-finance railway infrastructure development projects, including those financed by the European Union structural funds — over UAH 128 million.
On ensuring 100 % compensation for expenses incurred by JSC Ukrzaliznytsia for the transportation of privileged categories of passengers
From the responses of both ministries, it is clear that this is not provided for in the State Budget for this year. At the same time, as part of fulfilling the state’s agreements with the International Monetary Fund, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine is working on reforming social policy, including the cancellation of non-functional/ineffective social benefits and their replacement with more effective measures.