Experts: opening banking secrecy and getting into the pockets of Ukrainians is Hetmantsev's personal goal
Kyiv • UNN
MP Danylo Hetmantsev is reportedly behind a strategy to abolish banking secrecy in Ukraine, a move that critics fear could lead to increased fiscal scrutiny and loss of privacy.
The idea to abolish banking secrecy is personally behind MP Danylo Hetmantsev, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Financial Committee. According to experts, this is his personal goal. Dmytro Oleksiyenko, a member of the board of ICC Ukraine, a member of the Board of the Association of Taxpayers of Ukraine, and Anatoliy Amelin, a co-founder of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future think tank, spoke about this on the YouTube channel ALPHA MEDIA, UNN reports .
Details
According to experts, the National Revenue Strategy until 2030, which was recently presented by the authorities, provides for the complete abolition of banking secrecy. It is believed that Hetmantsev is behind the development of this strategy, which is supposed to strengthen the fiscal capacity of the state. According to analysts, the strategy will lead to higher taxes, expanded powers of the tax service, and the abolition of banking secrecy.
"The abolition of banking secrecy... was denied (by government officials, including Hetmantsev - ed.) because it is a topic of Hetmantsev himself. If we dive into history a little bit, 20 years ago, during the Orange Revolution - January 2005 - a young graduate student Hetmantsev wrote his PhD thesis on "Banking Secrecy. Peculiarities of Regulatory Regulation"... This (abolition of banking secrecy - ed.) was his personal goal," Oleksiyenko said, adding that Hetmantsev had already been researching the issue of opening banking secrecy 20 years ago.
Oleksiyenko recalled that it was after Hetmantsev was elected to the parliament that two specialized committees of the Verkhovna Rada, which had been separate for the entire previous history, were united, the Banking Committee and the Tax Committee. And in the same year, 2019, the first legislative norms were adopted that made banking secrecy not such a secret - at the request of some law enforcement agencies, the AMCU and other authorized bodies, without a court, banks were obliged to disclose information. In 2020, banking secrecy ceased to exist for the executive service. Next, a discussion began on the abolition of banking secrecy for the tax authorities. Anatoliy Amelin emphasized that the desire to destroy banking secrecy has a name and a surname.
"And not just bank secrecy, but essentially to get into our wallet and take everything out as much as possible without asking us much about our wishes. Just make a note of it," Amelin said.
Experts recalled the NBU's letter, according to which banks must provide the regulator with information on all P2P transfers (transfers between individuals - ed.) to the regulator. The next logical step would be to treat such transfers as income, but it is banking secrecy that stands in the way. It protects such transfers all over the world.
"For now [it is an obstacle - ed.) But they want to remove it with this National Revenue Strategy," Amelin said.
He also reminded that there is no presumption of innocence for the tax service
"For the tax authorities, there is no presumption of innocence and you are all violators, suspects - you can be taken by the seat of your pants and essentially controlled. They can take your property and so on," the expert said.
Recall
The National Revenue Strategy for 2024-2030 was approved at a government meeting on December 27, 2023.
