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More than four years have passed since the bloody conflict between Russia and Ukraine, due to which Ukraine’s economy is going through severe pressure and a huge recession. Ukraine, which is constantly dependent on foreign financial assistance for its defense budget and arms procurement, now faces a huge challenge in providing its army with modern equipment. Amid such dire economic conditions, a proposal has been presented in the Ukrainian Parliament, which has attracted the attention of the entire world. Yaroslav Zhelezniak, chairman of the Finance Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) and prominent MP, has advocated legalization of the adult content and pornography industry in the country.
MP Yaroslav Zelezniak argues that the country is currently fighting for survival and the government should consider every practical means of raising revenue. He claimed that if the pornographic industry in Ukraine is legalized and brought under the tax net, then a huge tax of at least 25 million dollars (about Rs 210 crore) can be collected annually in the government treasury. According to the MP, this amount is so big that with it, about 30 thousand state-of-the-art combat and surveillance drones can be easily purchased for the Ukrainian army to deploy on the frontline against Russia.
The production, distribution, broadcast and marketing of pornography is completely illegal under the current legal framework in Ukraine. Under the current criminal law of the country, if caught doing so, the accused may have to face rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years and a heavy fine. However, the reality on the ground is completely opposite. Despite strict restrictions, the market for adult entertainment and online content has grown rapidly in Ukraine in the last few years. According to numerous international media reports and Wall Street Journal revelations, thousands of Ukrainian citizens are actively using various international subscription platforms, especially OnlyFans.
This entire industry is running secretly under the shadow of law and allegedly due to the ignorance of some corrupt local officials. Whenever police raids are conducted, the case is suppressed by imposing heavy fines on the creators or they get caught in legal trouble. MP Zelezniak says that it is a big irony that on one hand the work of these artists is legally restricted, but on the other hand the government also tries to collect tax on their earnings. To end this legal contradiction, it has become the need of the hour to make this entire business transparent and legal.
The Russia-Ukraine war has shown the whole world that 21st century warfare has become more dependent on small, cheap and accurate first-person view (FPV) drones than cannons and fighter planes. Ukraine has extensively used millions of drones to intercept Russian tanks, armored vehicles and infantry on the front lines. The Ukrainian Army’s drone capability remains the backbone of its defense line. Due to delays and uncertainty in military aid from Western countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has set a target of producing large numbers of drones domestically.
MP Zelezniak says that at a time when the country most needs weapons to protect its sovereignty and borders, a huge undeclared economy within the country cannot be ignored. 30,000 drones have the power to change the strategic balance in any battlefield. If by declaring just one sector legitimate, the country’s army can get new weapons worth millions of dollars, then there should be no hesitation in this. This argument has also given rise to a new debate among strategists and defense experts of war-torn Ukraine.
In this entire controversy, the situation of Ukrainian adult content creators remains very strange. According to official data available with the Tax Department of Ukraine, thousands of Ukrainian citizens earn millions of dollars of foreign exchange every year through the OnlyFans platform. The tax department wants these citizens to declare their foreign income and pay income tax on it as per rules. But as soon as a creator shows his earnings as income related to adult content creation, law enforcement agencies file a criminal case against him under anti-obscenity laws.
Ukraine’s well-known tax lawyer Lesia Mykhalenko, who has provided legal representation to more than 100 content creators, has also openly raised her voice on this issue. He says that when the country is in the critical phase of war, wasting the resources of police and courts in prosecuting such creators is a huge misuse of government funds. Recently, a female creator named Dvornikova filed an online petition to President Zelensky’s office after facing police action despite paying heavy taxes. This petition received the support of more than 25,000 citizens, which has forced the government to reconsider this law.
The issue of legalizing the adult industry has always been a sensitive topic in Ukrainian society due to traditional and religious beliefs. However, prolonged wars and depleted government coffers have broken this social taboo and made it an economic reality. This bill presented in Parliament makes a provision to decriminalize digital content created only by consenting adults. The same strict ban and punitive action will continue on child exploitation, human trafficking or any kind of objectionable content created without consent.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office has also indicated that parliament may consider the proposal. If the Ukrainian Parliament gives final approval to this bill, Ukraine will become the first country in Eastern Europe to officially include the adult film industry in the tax regime to meet war needs and purchase weapons. Analysts believe that this decision will not only add billions of new revenues to Ukraine’s economy, but will also set a new example of wartime revenue policies internationally.