Parliament to adopt state budget for next year on Dec 2 – Pidlasa

The Verkhovna Rada is to adopt the state budget for next year on December 2, said Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the parliamentary budget committee (Servant of the People faction).

"We also have a second date in the regulations that generally requires us to vote on the state budget by December 1. Ideally, we would do it on December 1, which is a Monday. However, the Verkhovna Rada's plenary session schedule provides for a plenary day on December 2, so the next plenary week is December 2. The vote on the budget has been postponed to that day because consultations on two key topics are still ongoing," Pidlasa said during the national telethon on Monday.

According to Pidlasa, consultations are taking place on the reform of teachers' salaries in secondary schools and on whether the 4% personal income tax should be included in the state budget or local budgets.

The MP also noted that the budget is usually voted on at the second reading, and the third reading, which is provided for by the regulations, occurs rarely.

"In my memory, there has not been a third reading of the state budget in the last 10 years; it has always been voted on at the second," Pidlasa recalled.

According to the Budget Code of Ukraine and parliamentary regulations, the Cabinet of Ministers must submit a draft of the state budget to the Verkhovna Rada by September 15. The first reading of the document occurs in October, when MPs consider the main indicators, such as revenues, expenditures, and deficit. The second reading of the state budget usually occurs in November. Clarifications and amendments are made. The third reading and adoption must take place by December 1 at the latest, so that the budget can take effect on January 1 of the following year.