Meeting of EBA Kharkiv representatives with Danylo Hetmantsev and Ihor Terekhov: discussion of business support in the frontline areas

02/ 07/ 2025

On June 25, an important dialogue between business and government took place in Kharkiv. Members of the Kharkiv Office of the European Business Association, along with representatives of the regional business community, had the opportunity to engage directly with Danylo Hetmantsev, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax, and Customs Policy, and Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv. The main objective of the meeting was to explore effective mechanisms for supporting entrepreneurship during wartime and to discuss the development of a special economic regime for frontline regions. Mayor Ihor Terekhov called on the government to provide tax incentives, war risk insurance, and concessional lending for businesses in Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Dnipro, and other frontline cities. These regions are Ukraine’s stronghold. We are giving a lot in this war. Business here is not just about the economy — it’s about maintaining the cities’ vital functions, he emphasized. Danylo Hetmantsev presented a draft Support Program for High-Risk Security Territories, which includes: the creation of a special support fund; tax and economic preferences; grants, concessional loans, and war risk insurance; support for attracting investors despite high risks. You can read more about the project at the link Anna Chaika, representative of EBA Kharkiv and Managing Partner at Business Element, emphasized that the Association submitted proposals on a special regime for frontline regions over six months ago. We’re not asking for privileges — we’re asking for tailored conditions that reflect the inequality of circumstances in which frontline businesses operate. For example, reducing the burden on payrolls by lowering the unified social contribution (USC) — this is not a benefit, it’s a matter of survival. Arguments about the lack of compensators should be reconsidered: formalizing employees with real salaries can serve as such a compensator. We also support returning the military levy to 1.5%, as we already pay a high price working under constant shelling. Additionally, we proposed a compromise on e-commerce fiscalization: allowing the use of electronic receipts with bank confirmation instead of mandatory cash registers. This preserves transparency while reducing administrative pressure. Finally, we appreciate the Kharkiv City Council’s initiative to cancel local property and land taxes, but we urge that a clear planning horizon — at least one fiscal year — be established. Planning may sound unrealistic now, but we still need it, she noted. This meeting marks an important step toward building a systemic national policy to support Ukraine’s frontline regions. We thank all parties for the constructive dialogue and hope for the prompt implementation of the proposed initiatives.

On June 25, an important dialogue between business and government took place in Kharkiv.

Members of the Kharkiv Office of the European Business Association, along with representatives of the regional business community, had the opportunity to engage directly with Danylo Hetmantsev, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax, and Customs Policy, and Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv.

The main objective of the meeting was to explore effective mechanisms for supporting entrepreneurship during wartime and to discuss the development of a special economic regime for frontline regions.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov called on the government to provide tax incentives, war risk insurance, and concessional lending for businesses in Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Dnipro, and other frontline cities.

“These regions are Ukraine’s stronghold. We are giving a lot in this war. Business here is not just about the economy — it’s about maintaining the cities’ vital functions,” he emphasized.

Danylo Hetmantsev presented a draft Support Program for High-Risk Security Territories, which includes:

the creation of a special support fund;
tax and economic preferences;
grants, concessional loans, and war risk insurance;
support for attracting investors despite high risks.

You can read more about the project at the link

Anna Chaika, representative of EBA Kharkiv and Managing Partner at Business Element, emphasized that the Association submitted proposals on a special regime for frontline regions over six months ago.

“We’re not asking for privileges — we’re asking for tailored conditions that reflect the inequality of circumstances in which frontline businesses operate. For example, reducing the burden on payrolls by lowering the unified social contribution (USC) — this is not a benefit, it’s a matter of survival.

Arguments about the lack of compensators should be reconsidered: formalizing employees with real salaries can serve as such a compensator.

We also support returning the military levy to 1.5%, as we already pay a high price working under constant shelling.

Additionally, we proposed a compromise on e-commerce fiscalization: allowing the use of electronic receipts with bank confirmation instead of mandatory cash registers. This preserves transparency while reducing administrative pressure.

Finally, we appreciate the Kharkiv City Council’s initiative to cancel local property and land taxes, but we urge that a clear planning horizon — at least one fiscal year — be established. Planning may sound unrealistic now, but we still need it,” she noted.

This meeting marks an important step toward building a systemic national policy to support Ukraine’s frontline regions.

We thank all parties for the constructive dialogue and hope for the prompt implementation of the proposed initiatives.