Almost a third of Ukrainian communities have not introduced a tourist tax — the State Tax Service explained what they plan to change

The State Tax Service plans to expand the practice of introducing the tourist tax in Ukrainian communities, as these revenues remain locally and can be directed towards the development of territories. This was reported by the Head of the State Tax Service, Lesya Karnaukh, following a meeting with the head of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine, Natalia Tabaka.

According to Karnaukh, more and more Ukrainians are choosing to travel within the country, which contributes to the development of domestic tourism and supports the local economy.

At the same time, she drew attention to the role of the tourist tax, which is paid during stays in hotels, homesteads, and other accommodation facilities. These funds go directly to community budgets and can be used for their development, so the State Tax Service is interested in having more communities apply this mechanism.

"As of the results of the first half of 2026, local budgets received 174.9 million UAH in tourist tax. Growth compared to last year is 22.6%. In total, more than 6.1 thousand payers paid the tourist tax," added Lesya Karnaukh.

She emphasized that the potential revenue from the tourist tax is far from exhausted. Therefore, the State Tax Service is looking for new mechanisms for close interaction with local authorities and representatives of the tourism industry. In the context of decentralization, it is the communities that should be most interested in expanding the circle of tax agents and increasing revenues that will work for the development of local tourist infrastructure.

"Because when, according to experts' estimates, 20-30% of the market operates in the 'shadow' — this means that communities are missing out on funds for implementing their own projects," said the head of the State Tax Service.

She said that recently the State Tax Service launched a pilot project to improve the administration of the tourist tax in four communities of Khmelnytskyi and Chernivtsi regions. This involves regular data exchange, joint analytics, explanatory work, methodological support, and the creation of a system for monitoring effectiveness.

"And I know that other communities have already shown interest in this experience. Because this is primarily their money. Therefore, we are working to reduce the number of communities that have not yet introduced the tourist tax. Today, such communities make up almost a third of the total number," she added.

The tax service strives to help communities make this process transparent. Quality analytics, information on accrued and paid amounts, tax debt, benefits, overpayments, and other indicators are what they are always ready to provide to communities.

Lesya Karnaukh noted that one of the areas of work is to ensure equal conditions for all entities providing temporary accommodation services. According to her, this should promote fair competition, support legal business, and increase revenues to community budgets. In this context, she highlighted the importance of cooperation between the State Tax Service and the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine.

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