Regions Party faction MP Yulia Liovochkina has proposed that to develop the system of solid domestic wastes processing in Ukraine, a tax should be imposed on the producers and importers of packaging and packed goods, the level of which will depend on the material the packaging is made of.

A corresponding bill, No. 11402 on amendments into Tax Code, was registered at Verkhovna Rada on November 6.

The tax rates are to be set per kilogram of material: UAH 0.35 for packaging made of paper and cardboard; UAH 0.85– for plastic; UAH 0.15– for glass; UAH 0.40 – for tin; UAH 1.10 for goods made of aluminium and foil; and UAH 0.20 – per kilogram for other metals.

Moreover, a UAH 1.25 tax is proposed to be charged per kilogram for combined packaging materials, UAH 0.20 for natural materials (wood, textile), and UAH 0.25 for other materials.

Companies, whatever their form of ownership, and individual entrepreneurs who produce packaging in Ukraine, or import it separately or together with goods, are to pay the tax.

At the same time, packaging weighing less than ten kilograms, which was produced in Ukraine, delivered directly to non-residents under foreign economic contracts, imported via transit or as a package for goods meant as a humanitarian aid, are not subject to taxation.

According to the author of the bill, the problem of processing solid domestic waste is one of the most urgent, since there is a tendency for a growth of the volume of waste, and overflows of city dumps and landfills, 80-90% of which are harmful to the environment.

However, the state can't fully allocate funds from the budget for the building of waste processing plants.

According to the author, an alternative option for resolving the problem is foreign investment as part of the Clean City program, which foresees the building of modern waste processing complexes that are economically attractive to foreign investors.

The bill also said that the adoption of the bill would also bring Ukrainian law into line with European law, and also create new jobs.