State Tax Service and communities are intensifying work with the tourist tax: revenue growth and market un-shadowing

Press service of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, published 15 May 2026 at 17:10 Chapter: News

State Tax Service is ready to provide maximum assistance to communities in working with the tourist tax to increase revenues and un-shadow the market. This was stated by acting Head of the State Tax Service Lesya Karnaukh during congressional hearings within the framework of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine.

She noted that for the State Tax Service, cooperation with communities is primarily about shared responsibility for filling local budgets. This is especially important in the war times.

“Together we find resources that should help communities develop. One of them is the tourist tax” – Lesya Karnaukh outlined. 

According to her, despite the war, people are traveling within the country, tourism is transforming. Last year, the tourist tax revenues amounted to 359 million UAH and in the first quarter of 2026 – already more than 82 million UAH. This is 23.6% more than in the same period last year.

Today, there are more than 8 thousand tourist tax payers in Ukraine. But currently the tourist tax is not working at the full capacity. According to experts, 20-30% of the market may be in the shadows. 

“Almost a third of communities have not yet introduced the tourist tax. Of course, there are a number of objective reasons for this due to the war. But we have analyzed and have already identified in communities where the tourist tax has not been established, more than 500 payers, who have a type of activity related to the provision of the tourist services. And this is a loss of potential income” – Lesya Karnaukh emphasized.

As acting Head of the State Tax Service noted, the Service strives to help communities make this process transparent as much as possible. State Tax Service is ready to systematically and regularly exchange high-quality analytics with communities. Local governments can receive information on accrued and paid amounts, tax debt, benefits, overpayments and other indicators.

Some information is provided monthly, some quarterly.

Such draft project has already been launched in 4 communities of Khmelnytskyi and Chernivtsi regions. This involves regular data exchange, joint analytics, explanatory work, methodological support and creation of efficiency monitoring system. And the State Tax Service is ready to share its experience with others.

“Everyone will benefit from this. After all, it’s not just about the tourist tax. Each legalized point is official employment and payment of the personal income tax, payment of the real estate and land tax, etc. We will see real scale of the market. And this will significantly reduce level of shadow economy” – Lesya Karnaukh underscored.