MP Ustenko: Government should offer tax incentives for gas producing companies

The Ukrainian government should establish a mechanism of tax incentives for the companies involved in natural gas exploration and production, which would not only promote the development of natural gas industry but also become one of steps towards Ukraine’s energy independence, Head of Subcommittee on Rent Payments, Environmental Tax and Taxation of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Servant of the People Member of Parliament Oleksii Ustenko has stated in a commentary to Ukrinform.

“The government has already implemented a number of measures to ensure that Ukraine begins to provide itself with natural gas on its own, but this is still not enough. The following steps should be related to tax legislation. Natural gas production is a costly process and, thus, we should establish a mechanism of tax incentives for gas producing companies,” Ustenko told.

In his words, today Ukraine has a high potential to increase natural gas production, and this opportunity should be used to gain energy independence.

According to Ustenko, at the moment there is an active fight against ‘sleeping’ licenses, i.e. those which remain unused. Based on different estimates, they cover about one-third of the total number of licenses.

In particular, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to bring the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, dated March 19, 2021, into force, according to which the subsurface management licenses and special permits provided to 19 companies had already been cancelled.