Ukraine plans to introduce tax support for religious organizations after the war

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is considering the possibility of introducing a European model of financing religious communities, which will allow citizens to independently direct part of their taxes to support their chosen churches. According to the chairman of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, Mykyta Poturaev, such an initiative will become relevant after the war is over and victory is achieved.

According to the Ukrinform news agency, Poturaev emphasized that the OCU and the UGCC are the foundation of national identity. According to polls, the existence of an independent Ukrainian church is critical for citizens as an element of self-identification, even if they are not regular churchgoers.

The proposed reform envisages the creation of a mechanism whereby a taxpayer can transfer a certain percentage of their taxes to a religious organization in one click. According to Poturayev, this is a common European practice, and the Romanian model seems interesting. The introduction of such a system will help solve the acute issues of social and pension security for clergy, who perform a huge amount of humanitarian and social work but are often deprived of full social protection.

In addition to tax innovations, the parliament is considering the possibility of developing a church-state partnership. Poturaev noted that despite Ukraine’s secular status, the state and the church are already actively cooperating in the areas of chaplaincy, assistance to IDPs and social support. The relevant legislative developments have already been discussed with the heads of the OCU and the UGCC, but their implementation was temporarily postponed due to the full-scale invasion.

As a reminder, according to a recent poll by the Rating Group sociological group, more than half of Ukrainian citizens allegedly support the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In addition, a significant majority of respondents approve of the imposition of personal sanctions against the head of this structure, Metropolitan Onufriy.