Rada passes draft state budget for 2024 at first reading

Yaroslav Zhelezniak, first deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, posted this on Telegram.

The version of the document agreed upon after considering recommendations from the budget committee and amendments filed by MPs was adopted with 285 votes in favor.

The proposals that the government should take into account when preparing the draft law for the second reading include increasing planned budget revenues by almost UAH 10 billion in case of the adoption of the draft law on taxation of banks (No. 9656-d), further reducing expenditures on construction, repairs and property purchases in various authorities, reducing expenditures on the Bureau of Economic Security and redirecting the freed funds for the purchase of scanners for customs at railway border crossing points. It is also proposed, in particular, to channel additional resources into prosthetics for service members and educational subsidies.

As reported, the main article of foreseen budget expenditures in 2024, as well as this year, is the financing of national defense. "We budget almost UAH 1.7 trillion for security and defense for 2024. Of these, about 56 billion UAH is for defense production and more than 48 billion UAH – the replenishment and expansion of the army of drones," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stressed.