Zelensky asked the IMF to drop the requirement to raise taxes in order to get a new loan, but the fund refused

In Kyiv, talks were held between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. At the meeting, the Fund continued to insist on tax increases as a precondition for issuing a new loan, even though the president tried to persuade Georgieva to drop this requirement.

This was reported on Telegram by Yaroslav Zhelezniak, an MP from the Holos faction.

According to him, the president and the government tried all day to convince Georgieva, but were unsuccessful. Zhelezniak quoted an IMF representative’s briefing after the talks:

“As regards Ukraine’s implementation of prior actions, at this time only one measure has been implemented: the adoption of the 2026 state budget. Other measures will include broadening the tax base by adopting legislation to tax income earned through digital platforms, closing customs loopholes for consumer goods, and restoring VAT and removing VAT exemptions. Therefore, swift action by the Ukrainian authorities to implement these and other prior actions will be crucial to maintain reform momentum and help Ukraine unblock financing for its substantial needs.”

As a reminder, in November Ukraine’s authorities promised the IMF— in order to secure a new loan— to introduce value-added tax for individual entrepreneurs who declare more than 1 million hryvnias in annual income, and also to abolish exemptions for parcels ordered from abroad. The IMF also demands that Kyiv introduce a tax on income earned via digital platforms—the so-called “OLX tax.”

Meanwhile, the day before, the Verkhovna Rada failed a vote to place on the agenda two bills needed to receive EU funds under the Ukraine Facility program, and another bill required for support from the International Monetary Fund.