Draft law would give tax concessions to the Moscow Patriarchate

Two National Deputies from the Party of the Regions, O. Yedin and M. Zubets are proposing to waive tax on the construction of the tallest cathedral in Europe which the Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate [UOC MP]  is undertaking in Kyiv.

Their draft bill would add the relevant amendments to the Tax Code so that until the building is handed over for use all funds and donations for its construction would not be subject to taxation.  Any organizations which gave more than 50% of their profits to the construction work would be freed from tax altogether for the period of the construction work.

As reported, the same publication Delo.ua on 6 December informed of the Kyiv City Council’s decision to allocate 11 million UAH for the construction of the Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection, under the UOC MP. One Deputy against the decision, Natalya Novak, said that she believed that Oles Dovhy, Secretary of the Council, “was approached by ’high-ranking’ persons as the State is seriously involved in the supervision of the project”.

The plans are not by any means only for a place of worship, but include “the metropolitan’s residence, numerous offices, a school, an educational center, a hotel for pilgrims, a TV studio, a conference hall designed for one thousand people, a sports complex, and underground parking for 126 cars”.

New information reported by Delo.ua