Under this law, the cabinet of ministers is to submit to parliament its proposals to change laws which are based on these rates for the calculation of social payments. Before lawmakers approve new wages and low-income group rates, old rates are to be used for calculations, says the law. As has been earlier reported by InfoBank, as of July 1, following the proposal by President Kuchma, parliament raised minimum monthly wages from UAH 45 to UAH 55. The current low-income group threshold stands at UAH 73.7 now. On October 22, Ukraine's parliament passed changes and amendments to the law on mandatory pension insurance which introduces a number of new taxes to increase the Pension Fund.
Additional revenue is to be used to repay wage and pension arrears.
Under the new law, all legal and natural persons of Ukraine will pay to the Pension Fund 1 percent from trading in hard currency, and 3 percent from sales of cars, except the cases of inherited vehicles or vehicles provided by the government for the invalids. Jewellry companies will have to pay 5 percent from sales of gold jewellry, except wedding rings, platinum jewellry and precious stones. The law comes into force immediately after its publication and remains valid until full repayment of pension arrears. As a result of the economic crisis that Ukraine found itself in this autumn, the Government had to actually work out anew the figures of the draft state budget for 1999, First Deputy Finance Minister Stanislav Bukovynskyi said at the Cabinet of Ministers sitting on Ocotber 23. According to Mr. Bukovynskyi, the volume of gross domestic product in 1999 will amount to UAH 117.5 billion, the figure being UAH 15 billion higher than what GDP is expected to be this year.