State authorities accuse Metropolitan Pavlo of tax arrears

The Kyiv District Administrative Court issued a decision to collect the tax debt to the budget from the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavlo of the UOC. According to the court registry, in 2021–2022, the capital’s tax authorities charged the clergyman with 89,400 UAH in arrears on property tax. In court, Metropolitan Pavlo’s representative confirmed the existence of the debt but explained that the reason for non-payment was not a refusal to fulfill obligations, but state restrictions and sanctions. This was reported by Glavcom.

Due to existing sanctions, the metropolitan’s assets were blocked, and operations to fulfill economic and financial obligations were suspended. Considering these circumstances, the hierarch’s representative requested the court to suspend the case until the Supreme Court rules on Metropolitan Pavlo’s lawsuit against the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The plaintiff seeks to cancel the decree on personal sanctions for a period of five years – until December 1, 2027.

However, the court denied the motion, noting that sanctions do not exempt one from paying taxes and fees.

Earlier, it was reported that the head of the parliamentary committee on humanitarian and information policy, Mykyta Poturayev, commented on the information about alleged funding of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from Russia, which has been widely circulated in biased media for several years. The deputy stated that despite the prevalence of this version, the UOC’s maintenance has practically always been carried out from internal sources – patrons and ordinary believers.