Businesses in Odesa denied new benefits for real estate and land

Odesa may double the tourist tax for foreigners. The city council's budget committee also supported tax breaks for certain institutions for 2026-2027.

The relevant decisions were made at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Odesa City Council on Planning, Budget and Finance.

Tourist tax for foreigners

During the discussion, representatives of the relevant department said that the document needs to be updated due to a change in the name of the structural unit authorized to sign agreements with tax agents. At the same time, officials proposed to increase the rate of tourist tax for foreign citizens.

Currently, foreign tourists pay 0.5% of the minimum wage for each day of stay, which amounts to UAH 43.24. After the amendments are approved, the rate will increase to 1%, or UAH 86.50 per day.

During the meeting, it was noted that similar or even higher rates are already in place in Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsia. The commission members also asked about the projected budget revenues from this decision. Although no exact calculations were provided, the discussion participants agreed that additional funds for the city budget would be useful.

The project was unanimously supported by the voters.

New tax breaks for 2026 and 2027 were not supported

The deputies considered a separate block of appeals on establishing tax exemptions for real estate tax and land tax.

During the discussion, it was emphasized that the introduction of individual benefits for certain companies may contradict antitrust laws. In addition, the members of the Commission drew attention to procedural restrictions on the adoption of such decisions for the current budget period.

As a result, the proposals for new real estate tax exemptions for 2026 and 2027 did not receive the necessary support. The Commission also failed to approve new land tax exemptions for certain legal entities.

Who will receive benefits in 2027

At the same time, the Commission supported draft decisions to extend benefits for a number of institutions and organizations that perform socially important functions.

Among those who will be able to take advantage of the benefits are:

• executive bodies of Odesa City Council;
• municipal enterprises of the city;
• budgetary institutions of the city and regional councils;
• military formations, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the State Border Guard Service;
• state authorities and prosecutors;
• specialized rehabilitation and medical institutions;
• charitable organizations providing care and accommodation services;
• companies that manufacture medical and dental products;
• certain sanatorium and resort facilities engaged in medical and psychological rehabilitation.

For most of these categories, there is a 100 percent exemption from the relevant payments, and for certain healthcare facilities, a 75 percent exemption.

Both drafts on benefits for 2027 were unanimously supported by the commission members.

The final decision is up to the session

At the end of the meeting, the deputies also discussed official letters from the mayor, the city council secretary, and working groups. After all the issues had been considered, the commission members closed the meeting and said that the final decision on the supported projects would be made at the next session of the Odesa City Council.

In April, during a meeting of the budget commission in Odesa, the city council considered changes to the city budget and a number of financial and programmatic issues for 2026. The deputies supported the redistribution of funds but emphasized the critical lack of funding for the implementation of strategic projects, in particular in the field of energy efficiency and security.

Анна Бальчінос