Wages are one of the main economic categories that combine interests of employees, entrepreneurs and the state and directly affect living standards of Ukrainian population. Filling the budget means taking care of the health of Poltava residents, upbringing and education of younger generation, pensions and care for the elderly.
Payment of wages by employers “in the envelope”, concealment of citizens’ income – all these have a negative impact on the budget’s filling. Legal ignorance significantly weakens position of the average citizen in relations with an employer who violates the law by not concluding employment agreement with an employee.
This issue was a key during the joint action of specialists of the Main Directorate of the State Tax Service in Poltava region, Main Department of the Pension Fund of Poltava region and Department of State Labor of Poltava region. Specialists of the above-mentioned services held an informational and explanatory campaign at the Central Department Store where employees of the trading floors were told about the benefits of official employment and the negative consequences of receiving wages “in the envelopes”.
Tax specialists of Poltava region do not stay away from problem of ensuring the citizens’ labor rights and one of the main areas of work of tax authorities to fill local budgets is the work of withdrawing wages from the “shadow”.
In total, since the beginning of 2020, the tax specialists of Poltava region have identified 562 citizens whose work was used by employers without concluding employment agreements. Due to the taken measures, employees used their right to formalize labor relations with employers, subsequently the local budgets of received additional taxes and a single contribution in the amount of 1245.6 thousand UAH.
The main danger of “shadow” wages, as well as “shadow” employment is not only that the budget is underfunded. By evading pension contributions, employers leave employees the opportunity to receive pension that corresponds to their real wage.