Ukrainian Social Policy Minister Andriy Reva says 40 percent of Ukraine’s economy remains in the shadow, therefore the developed countries’ standards of solving economic problems cannot be effective in Ukraine, while de-shadowing will bring more money to the wage fund than the actual economic growth.
“This was proved by the Government in 2017. The entire wage fund in 2016 amounted to Hr 584 billion [$22.3 billion], while the Economic Development Ministry forecasted it might grow by Hr 82 billion [$3.1 billion]. However, the Ministry of Social Policy said the figure was understated and predicted the growth of the fund by Hr 212 billion [$8.1 billion]. In fact, the payroll budget in 2017 totaled Hr 796 billion [$30.4 billion]. We received Hr 212 billion in the budget with a 2.5 percent economic growth. Where did this money come from? The answer is very simple – from the shadow economy and as a result of a 50 percent raise of minimum wage,” Reva explained, as reported by the ministry’s press service.
