On December 4, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal presented a package of bills (№4429, №4430, №4431) to the Verkhovna Rada aimed at supporting people and businesses in case of severe quarantine restrictions are introduced. The draft laws were submitted for the Parliament’s consideration by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"These are critical initiatives that people will need if anti-epidemic measures in Ukraine are strengthened," stressed Denys Shmyhal.

Following the voting, the Verkhovna Rada approved all three submitted bills as a whole. They include the following programs and initiatives:

• One-off financial assistance to insured persons in the amount of UAH 8,000. Assistance can be provided to employees who have lost part of their wages due to intensified quarantine restrictions, and to individual entrepreneurs who have lost part of their income due to the ban on full operation.

• One-off financial assistance to legal entities in order to save jobs. For example, if an entrepreneur-legal entity is forced to reduce the working hours of an employee due to severe quarantine measures, he will be able to receive a one-time allowance for one such employee up to UAH 8,000.

• One-time reimbursement of expenses for legal entities incurred for the payment of USC (unified social contribution). Appropriate assistance is provided to those businesses whose activities will be suspended in case of intensified quarantine measures. The amount of one-time compensation will be calculated as the average value of the paid USC sums for ten months.

• Introduction of tax holidays for 200 thousand private individuals of the first group, which exempts them from accrual and payment of a single tax and a single contribution from December 2020 to May 2021.

• Writing-off a tax debt to taxpayers if the total amount of debt for all taxes and fees does not exceed UAH 3,060 and it isn’t repayed as of November 1, 2020.

• Deferral up to one year of payment of tax debts of citizens and self-employed persons in the amount of up to UAH 6,800, which arose before December 1, 2020.

• Writing-off fines and penalties for tax debts, if they are repaid within six months after the entry into force of this document.

• Triple increase (from UAH 1,020 to UAH 3,060) of the tax debt repayment threshold regarding which the tax office will not take corrective action.

• Exemption from taxation of material assistance that citizens and businesses will receive from the state in connection with the intensified quarantine - material assistance will not be subject to personal income tax and income tax.

According to the Prime Minister, these steps should help people and honest businesses to go through a period of strict quarantine restrictions if they are introduced. The Head of Government thanked the President of Ukraine and MPs "for coordinated work for the benefit of Ukrainians."