CURRENT STATE OF THE UKRAINIAN MARKET OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS

Introduction. Today, almost the only industry in the country that Ukraine can really be proud of and which is considered one of the most technologically advanced in the world is the development of card technologies, payment technologies and card infrastructure. The purpose of the article is to analyze the current state of electronic payment systems in Ukraine and highlight development trends. Results. The modern fintech directions in Ukraine are analyzed and examples of the impact of COVID-19 on the market of electronic payment systems for the last period are given. A number of trends are highlighted for further research in the field of electronic payment systems, which are now quite promising. Perspectives. Given the significant increase in non-cash payments, the problem of developing financial technologies and spreading awareness among the population has become especially urgent. It is necessary to improve not only the financial technologies themselves, but also the ways of providing them to clients and promoting modern financial technologies. Electronic payment systems can still be considered one of the most promising areas for future research.

PROBLEMS OF TAX RISK MANAGEMENT IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Introduction. The theoretical bases of tax risks are considered and the author's approach to interpretation of their essence is offered. The directions of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on tax revenues to the State Budget of Ukraine have been studied and the factors of intensification of tax risks have been determined. On this basis, scientifically sound recommendations for improving the management of tax risks in Ukraine in the economic crisis. The purpose of the article is to study the areas of intensification of tax risks in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the development of scientifically sound proposals for improving the management of tax risks in the face of new challenges for fiscal authorities. Results. The main directions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tax revenues to the State Budget of Ukraine are assessed. It is proved that the manifestations of the economic crisis are the main factors of intensification of tax risks in Ukraine, which are expressed in significant losses of budget revenues. Ways to optimize the mechanism of VAT refunds and directions of audit of tax benefits in order to minimize tax risks are proposed. The mechanisms of obligatory fiscalization of micro and small business settlements through the introduction of registrars of settlement operations on favorable terms for business owners without the need to hire additional employees are outlined. Possibilities of realization of the project of electronic customs as one of elements of creation of a positive business climate and minimization of tax risks are considered. Perspectives. Promising areas of research may be the study of psychological, administrative, technological, political factors of tax risks in Ukraine.

ON THE ISSUE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN FINANCIAL ASSETS REGULATION: CRYPTOCURRENCIES

Introduction. The digitalization of the economy is closely linked to the formation of an effective legal framework. Any development or operation of digital instruments must be accompanied by appropriate financial and legal regulation. The study of the functioning of digital financial assets allowed us to conclude that, unfortunately, their rapid development is observed against the background of the lag of regulatory regulation of the relevant legal relations that are formed as a result of such activities. A critical scientific analysis of international experience in the field of financial regulation of cryptocurrencies has identified a number of key generalizations. The purpose of the article is to identify the main markers of digital financial assets, study international experience in financial regulation of virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, identify opportunities to implement positive foreign practices to Ukrainian realities and diagnose the current state and prospects of cryptocurrency in Ukraine. Results. The specific characteristics of digital financial assets are substantiated, namely: freedom of issue, availability of cryptocurrencies, absence of intermediaries, high degree of protection, openness to developers, integration with the latest technologies that produce new digital products. The international practice of state regulation of cryptocurrencies is generalized in terms of both the interpretation of the conceptual apparatus and in view of the qualification of the mechanism of conducting operations with digital assets. It is proved that in Ukraine from the point of view of legal regulation of cryptocurrency is still outside the full framework of the legal field of domestic legislation. The main innovations and specifics of regulation of the market of virtual assets in accordance with modern Ukrainian realities are determined. Conclusions. The difference between national laws in the field of regulation of virtual assets is proved. It is argued that the main vector of regulation is aimed at strengthening control over the transparency and accountability of transactions with virtual assets, cybersecurity and mandatory user verification. The main directions of increasing the settlement and trust in virtual assets are formulated: production of standards and rules of cryptocurrency circulation, in order to bring it to the rank of a competitive means of payment; consolidation of the official status of cryptocurrency; formation of an open ecosystem through effective interaction of all participants in the process of buying / selling cryptocurrency; formation of a legal trading platform for cryptocurrency circulation; support of information literacy of the population to understand the benefits and risks of virtual currency etc.

FISCAL AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF PERSONAL INCOME TAXATION

Introduction. Direct taxes are an important financial regulator of socio-economic processes, they are one of the most important sources of budgeting and an essential tool of state regulation. The personal income tax is the main tax through which social policy is implemented in the developed countries of the world. The advantages of this tax include its social justice and fiscal efficiency, as it is able to make the level of taxation directly dependent on the amount of income of taxpayers. In addition, progressive tax rates and benefits can reduce the tax burden on the poor and increase it on high-income earners. The purpose of the article is to considerate the theoretical and practical aspects of administration of the personal income tax in the conditions of reforming of fiscal policy of Ukraine, systematization of directions of improvement of collecting of the personal income tax to local and state budgets. Methods. Methods of dialectical analysis and synthesis, deduction, induction logical generalization, comparison and formalization are used in the article. Results. The article is devoted to the study of the essence and role of personal income tax administration. Peculiarities of citizens’ income formation as an object of taxation are considered. Monitoring and analysis of indicators of personal income tax to local and state budgets was carried out. The growth rates of nominal revenues of personal income tax and military duty, real and nominal wages are studied. It was found that the main factors reducing the level of fiscal efficiency of personal income tax in Ukraine are the shadowing of incomes and the outflow of labor, including skilled personnel. Ukraine’s tax policy for the last five years is fiscally oriented and does not take into account the social aspect of personal income taxation. As a result of the research, the directions of increasing the efficiency of personal income taxation in Ukraine based on foreign experience are systematized. Prospects. The current model of personal income tax does not sufficiently perform a socioeconomic function, does not provide a socially equitable distribution of income between different segments of the population. In recent years, the fiscal significance of the personal income tax has remained, but the system of personal income taxation requires the application of progressive rates. Therefore, promising areas of future research should be the development and improvement of the mechanism of personal income taxation in the context of ensuring their socio-economic interests.

THE FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC EXPENDITURES IN PUBLIC MANAGEMENT, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS OF A COUNTRY

Introduction. The functions of public expenditures reveal their intended purpose in the regulation of various processes and explain their role in the attainment of specific goals. Scientific literature provides extensive insights into definitions of budget functions in market democracies, but the functional purpose of public expenditures is covered only fragmentarily. The purpose of the article is to present a scientific substantiation for the system of public expenditure functions in the market democracies. Results. Based on the analysis of public expenditure functions, we believe that it would be feasible to substantiate the functions separately for each of the two main spheres directly affected by public expenditures, namely public management and the economic and social system of the country. In the public management sphere, public expenditures perform the functions of control and planning (programming). The essence of the planning function consists in using public expenditures to create conditions and provide necessary incentives for rational performance-based planning of the activities carried out by public authorities, as well as for attainment of target performance indicators by applying the results-oriented budgeting method. The function of control is preconditioned by the specifics of public management system functioning in a democratic society, which consists in assuring that the society has control over activities of public authorities. The influence of public expenditures on the national economy and its social system occurs through functions of allocation, redistribution and stimulation. The function of allocation consists in providing the population with goods and services that cannot be supplied by the market economy in sufficient volumes. The essence of the redistribution function consists in using public expenditures with the aim of decreasing income inequality among members of the society, regional development of territories or solving other tasks. The public expenditure function of stimulation aims to stimulate certain directions of economic activity by means of changing the volumes, components or structure of public expenditures through different mechanisms of their realization. Conclusions. In result of performing a theoretical study of the functional purpose of the budget in a market economy and a critical analysis of scientific postulates allow us to substantiate the feasibility of identifying the following functions of public expenditures: planning (programming), control, allocation, redistribution, and stimula tion.

ECONOMIC ESSENCE AND ROLE OF PROPERTY TAXES IN UKRAINE

Introduction. The development of local self-government is one of the important prerequisites for the formation of a democratic state. Effective activity of local self-government bodies is impossible without a sufficient amount of financial resources, which are formed at the expense of the local budget’s own tax revenues. The local taxes and fees are the basis of financial independence of local authorities in the most developed countries of the world, the main among which are considered property taxes. The formation and development of national tax systems takes longer in the most developed countries than in Ukraine, which in its turn, affects the quality of tax legislation and as a consequence is accompanied by a misunderstanding on the part of society’s tax innovations. The construction of the taxation system should be based on the citizens’ awareness of the fiscal importance of property taxes in the formation of the revenue side of the state and local budgets. The purpose of the article is to determine the features of the collection of property taxes in Ukraine, research their role in the formation of the revenue side of local budgets and to outline areas for improving property taxes in Ukraine using foreign experience. Results. The general features of the evolution of the property taxation system are considered. It is argued that a key element of the real estate taxation mechanism if the procedure for determining the tax base, which is mostly the valuation of the object. It is necessary to review property tax rates, conduct an inventory and ensure the full functioning of the system of mass registration of real estate, introduce a correction factor to take into account historical, territorial and other characteristics of real estate, increase tax literacy and tax culture of the population. Prospects. The attention will be paid to the differentiation of property tax rates, the feasibility of introducing preferential taxation, the advantages and disadvantages of property taxation and more in further research,.

TRANSFORMATION OF BUDGETING TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONTEXT OF ENSURING INCLUSIVE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OF THE STATE

Introduction. Slowing economic growth, the spread of destructive demographic and environmental processes, increasing inequality in access to participation in economic, social and political life of the country necessitate the search for innovative budgeting technologies that would include elements of inclusion. The purpose of the article is justification of the theoretical foundations of inclusive budgeting, determination of preconditions and necessity of introduction of this technology into budgetary practice of Ukraine. Methods. In the course of research systematic approach to study widespread budgeting technologies, used in foreign and domestic practice, and the following methods of scientific cognition: induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, associations, analogies and others, were used. Results. In order to ensure the socio-economic development of Ukraine on the basis of the concept of inclusive sustainable growth, the necessity of introducing technology of inclusive budgeting, which would take into account the benefits of practical use of program-targeted, participatory and gender-based budgeting, has been proved. The main features of inclusive budgeting include: existence of legislatively approved rules, norms and procedures that maximally involve citizens into filling budgets of different levels on the basis of the principle of progressive taxation and provide them with equal access possibilities to public services; maximize the involvement of society members in formulation of the budget programs on the basis of which budget expenditures are determined, as well as in monitoring their implementation, including the reporting procedure. Interpretation of the terms “budgetary inclusion” and “inclusive budgeting” is proposed. The main elements of inclusive budgeting include: budget programs; performance indicators for evaluating the implementation of budget programs; budget program executors; initiative, active, financially competent citizens; participatory budgeting. The main stages of integration of inclusive aspects in the budget process are defined: carrying out inclusive budget analysis (analysis of budget requests, budget programs and the state of their financing, budgets in order to identify problems of unequal access of citizens to budgetary resources and public services); formulation of the goals and recommendations to enhance inclusion; making changes to budget requests, budget programs, budgets; monitoring and evaluation of the results of changes made to budget requests, budget programs, budgets. Perspectives. The subject of further research is an in-depth study of the problems of budget inclusion.

INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT COOPERATION OF THE VISEGRAD FOUR COUNTRIES

Introduction. One of the challenges of the globalized world economic system to national economies is the need to optimize their participation in the international division of labour. In this regard, increases the importance of the investment segment of foreign economic activity in achieving economic growth in competitive conditions with the priority of providing national economic interests . The purpose of the article is to review the investment relations of the Visegrad four countries in dynamics, to determine their investment priorities in attracting foreign direct investment in the national economy and in making direct capital investments abroad, to summarize their practice of supporting investment in the country and abroad, to draw attention to the possibilities of their adaptation to the Ukrainian practice of foreign economic activity. Results. There are considered the financial component of foreign economic activity of the Visegrad four countries in the investment segment, the dynamics of bilateral investment flows, and the features and priorities of investment cooperation between the countries in foreign markets. There is drawn attention to the system of providing state support for investing within countries and abroad in the interests of the national economy. Conclusions. The dynamics of the investment segment of the Visegrad four countries in foreign economic activity demonstrates the priority of countries in expanding their investment presence in foreign markets. At the same time, the national interests of each of the states, taking into account EU membership, are different, which determines the presence of peculiarities in the formation and implementation of the investment policy of each of the countries. The implementation of the priority of expanding the investment presence in foreign markets and effectively attracting FDI to the national economy increases, despite the market status, role and impact of state regulation of these processes. State assistance is implemented by appropriate regulatory support for investment activities, the use of a wide range of financial and institutional support for investment cooperation, the creation of a network of structures for implementing investment policy, taking into account the specifics of countries and in the context of promoting national economic interests.

THE ROLE OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION IN COUNTERING THE GROWTH OF PROTECTIONISM DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Introduction. The global economy has been shaken by a wave of protectionism, which has led to trade restrictions and a deterioration in world trade and GDP. The spread of coronavirus infection COVID-19 has put the international community in a state of uncertainty and unpredictability, and world trade in a state of crisis due to a record rate of decline. Sharp confrontations in trade relations between world leaders have called into question the ability of international arbitrators, such as the WTO, to resolve trade disputes on the basis of existing rules and agreements reached. Today, WTO members recognize the need to reform the organization. The purpose of the article is to research the role of the World Trade Organization in countering the spread of protectionist policies and the COVID-19 pandemic. Results. Modern tendencies of world trade and pragmatism of introduction of trade restrictions are considered. The key problems of the WTO institutional crisis are revealed and the need for its reform is determined. Conclusions. The WTO needs to be reformed in order to a more flexible structure that will better meet the demands of the times and perform its core functions more effectively, in particular, providing mechanisms for settling international trade disputes and developing and adopting world trade standards. Effective WTO reforms, the resumption of dialogue between members and the choice of achievable goals are the basis of a multilateral trading system that meets the needs of today’s digital economy and promotes economic growth. The result of WTO reforms should not be a new paradigm that is not based on trade liberalization, but the development of corrective tools that will support the benefits of this institution, meet current and future needs.