UPA advocates adoption of bill on Cultural Space similar to Diia.City – Bidenko
The Ukrainian Publishers Association (UPA) supports the adoption of the draft law "On the development of cultural industries," which provides for the introduction of gig contracts for the industry and the possibility of reinvesting profits, said Artem Bidenko, director of the association.
"The most global project is the so-called ‘On the development of cultural industries’ (‘Cultural space’). It’s essentially a rewritten version of the ‘Law on stimulating the development of the Digital economy in Ukraine’ – ‘Diia.City.’ That is, we didn’t invent anything new, as we are very constrained by IMF requirements and national legislation. We based it on the law that works and, in essence, creates a specific, special format for the industry," Bidenko said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on the initiatives that the Ukrainian Institute of Culture submitted to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.
According to him, among the main things he envisages is the introduction of so-called gig contracts for the industry, which provide workers with certain protections—insurance, health insurance, and inclusion in their work experience—while also implying a lower tax burden.
"Since today in Ukraine, there are essentially two work formats: either you work under an employment contract, and the employer pays 42-45% in taxes, or you work as a sole proprietor and pay 6%. And it’s clear that all industries are trying to optimize this: they’re hiring sole proprietors and fragmenting their activities. Various agencies are trying to combat this, and there are fines," he added.
The draft law also provides for the possibility of reinvesting profits, which will not be subject to significant taxes.
According to him, this has been a huge boost for the IT sector and has enabled many companies to emerge from the shadow economy.
In response to the objection that it was unlikely that the tax incentive initiative could be adopted at the present time, Bidenko stated that, in his opinion, this was a question of leadership and lobbying.
"Because the issue of sole proprietorships, which the IMF allegedly demanded of us, was postponed after it became public. We see from the example of IT that this, on the contrary, increases budget revenues, as companies are going public. And for the creative industries, this should have been done long ago," the head of the UPA emphasized.
Furthermore, the association requested the Ministry of Culture: initiate a reduction in the number of mandatory copies for publishers from 20 to 3-6; repeal the provision in the decree that considers anything up to 48 pages long a brochure, to eliminate loopholes involving VAT; and adopt a technical standard for children’s literature.
"Unfortunately, we haven’t received a single response from the Ministry of Culture in four months. The working group we’ve been requesting since November hasn’t been created, we’re getting runarounds regarding our initiatives, and there’s been no communication… Therefore, we’re reaching out once again and proposing to jointly implement projects, and we hope that at least something will move the needle," Bidenko added.
As reported, in April, the Ukrainian Publishers Association approached Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture of Ukraine Tetiana Berezhna with a request to consider proposals to support the publishing industry. Specifically, a draft law on support for creative industries was submitted.