The Cabinet of Ministers wants to introduce an additional tax on education. Thus, in the draft amendments to the Tax Code, it is proposed to exclude clause 197.1.2 from Article 197 "Transactions exempted from tax".

According to this clause, services for obtaining higher, secondary, vocational and pre-school education by educational institutions, as well as services for raising and teaching children and services for accommodation of pupils or students in dormitories, are exempt from VAT.

If the item is excluded, educational institutions (including cultural centers and music schools) will pay VAT on a general basis.

The VAT rate in Ukraine, as a reminder, is currently 20%.

Thus, the following educational services may become more expensive in 20%:

- education and training of children in children's music and art schools, art schools, cultural centers (playing musical instruments, choreography, visual arts, foreign language groups (optional), computer training);

- maintenance, upbringing and education of children in preschool educational institutions, both within the scope established by curricula and programs, and beyond the specified scope;

– all types of educational activities provided by general educational institutions of the I-III degrees, vocational and technical educational institutions; by higher educational institutions of I-IV levels of accreditation, including for obtaining a second higher and postgraduate education;

– training of trainees of preparatory departments of higher educational institutions; repeated study of individual disciplines and courses by expelled students (cadets) with the subsequent passing of exams; pre-university training;

– training of post-graduate students and doctoral students, acceptance of candidacy exams; provision of scientific consultations for persons who improve their qualifications independently;

- conducting lectures on issues of science and technology, culture and art, physical culture and sports, legal knowledge, tourism and local history;

- provision of consultations for students, trainees, students, cadets beyond the scope established by curricula and programs, for post-graduate students, doctoral students;

- organization of summer language courses, schools, seminars; group and individual classes in physical culture and sports at stadiums, in sports halls and swimming pools, on tennis courts for children, pupils and students.

If clause 157.1.2 is excluded, this entire list of services will be subject to VAT under general conditions. In the explanatory note to its project, the Cabinet of Ministers only briefly mentions "the equalization of the tax burden for the provision of education services."

Experts in the field of education, commenting on the proposal of the Cabinet of Ministers, predict mass refusal of parents of pupils and students to use the relevant services due to their inaccessibility and significant reductions in the staff of relevant employees. Thus, with the introduction of VAT on paid educational services, they may become inaccessible to the majority of the population of Ukraine.