Shadow economy accounts for almost half of Ukraine's GDP — IMF

WASHINGTON, May 14. /TASS/. Ukraine's shadow economy accounts for 45% of its GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The data was provided by IMF spokesperson Julie Kozak at a regular briefing for journalists. "We are supporting efforts by the authorities to broaden the tax base, including by reducing the size of the informal sector. Right now, the informal sector, for example, is estimated at 45% of GDP," she said commenting on the program of financial assistance to Ukraine. This $8.1 billion program was approved in February. According to Kozak, the IMF will send its first review mission to Kiev in the coming weeks to assess the program's implementation. Kiev and the IMF have been negotiating this four-year program for Ukraine since last year. One of the IMF's conditions, which has long insisted that Ukraine find new sources for independent budget revenue, was ensuring tax reforms. In January, the Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) failed to pass any of the required bills. Despite this, on February 27, the IMF's board of directors approved the new program for Kiev, but the preconditions were upgraded to mandatory "structural benchmarks." Ukraine now faces the need to adopt the package of tax reforms insisted on by the IMF.