Before increasing the tax burden on citizens, the authorities must explain what amount of funds the state budget needs for what purposes and whether the possibilities for cutting non-targeted wartime expenditures have been exhausted, leader of the European Solidarity party, MP Petro Poroshenko said.

As reported on the party's website, according to him, the authorities announced an urgent need for UAH 500 billion, but after a meeting of the tax committee, the amount changed to UAH 30 billion. "The government must clearly justify what of this goes to the soldiers' salaries, what goes to the purchase of weapons and ammunition, FPV and electronic warfare equipment, and when it will be delivered. What goes to the construction of fortifications. These approved and declared expenses must remain untouched," Poroshenko said at a briefing.

The politician called for a reduction in expenses for the maintenance of the state apparatus. "The country has 8 million fewer people. If the number of people to whom the government must provide services is reduced, there must be a corresponding reduction in the number of authorities," Poroshenko believes.

He also called for a reduction in unnecessary expenses, calling such the financing of the "unified telethon," the Rada television channel and the construction of roads, including with the frontline territories in Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Donetsk regions. Poroshenko also criticized the so-called idea of ​​"national cashback" that requires at least UAH 3 billion from the budget and called it "an incentive that destroys the competitive environment in Ukraine."

"The principle of justice requires that no salary in Ukraine can be higher than the salary of a soldier at the front. A soldier at the front receives an additional payment of UAH 100,000. No one in Ukraine can receive the amount of payments, the source of which is the state budget or state-owned enterprises, including employees of the supervisory boards of the railway, banks, more than a soldier at the front," the politician said.

According to the European Solidarity leader, military personal income tax and military collection funds should be accumulated in a special account exclusively for the needs of the Defense Forces. "In order to ensure transparency in the use of funds, our political team demands that all funding for the army, through amendments to the Budget Code and the Law On the state budget, be financed exclusively through a special fund. If money is needed exclusively and only to finance the Armed Forces, send it to a special military collection fund and distribute it exclusively for the purposes and tasks defined by law," Poroshenko said.

According to him, the relevant legislative initiatives will be submitted to parliament in the coming days.