Recently, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development held a hearing on "Priorities and Challenges of Small and Medium Businesses in the Context of Ukraine's Recovery". The interests of agrarian business were represented by Denys Marchuk, the UAC Deputy Chairman. The farmers are in favor of preserving the single tax, increasing the 5-7-9 credit limits to UAH 150 million, and adopting the draft law on retail chains.

"One of the issues that is of great concern to small and medium-sized producers is simplified taxation. It would be a disaster for us if the current taxation system for the taxpayers of the 4th group, where tax is paid as a percentage per hectare, is abolished. This is the norm that allows small and medium-sized agricultural businesses to survive in times of war. Here are the statistics of the World Bank, which states that direct and indirect losses of commodity producers amount to about USD 40 billion, and only direct losses due to low prices for agricultural products reach EUR 3 billion.

Therefore, when we talk about transferring to the general taxation system at 18%, the state itself will suffer foremost. It is illogical to transfer an unprofitable industry to the general taxation system, because then there will be nothing to collect income tax from. Farmers will simply report their losses. Instead, being in the 4th group of the single tax, commodity producers in any case pay a fixed tax, which the state can calculate when planning future budget expenditures," said Denys Marchuk.

In the context of European integration, simplified taxation is the only thing that makes Ukrainian producers competitive with European farmers.

The second issue that farmers emphasize is the principle of the credit system, which works effectively under the 5-7-9 program, but has a problem in terms of low credit limits.

"We are in the third year of the war, so many producers have exhausted their credit limits of UAH 90 million. Unfortunately, lending under such conditions does not lead to development, as producers are forced to re-lend. The limits should be increased to at least UAH 150 million. We propose to start increasing credit limits with dairy farms that produce added value in the same way as processors for whom the state has already increased the limits," suggested the UAC Deputy Chairman.

The third factor that commodity producers are paying attention to is the draft law on trade networks.

"Farmers often become hostages of the situation when the networks do not pay on time. The necessary draft law will be considered on February 12, so we ask for efforts to resolve these issues and help all branches of business," summarized Denys Marchuk.