The Verkhovna Rada has adopted a law on the reform of compulsory state social insurance and payroll legalization, which foresees the reduction of the current social security tax rate by up to 2.5 times, starting from 2015.

An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent said that 268 MPs voted for the respective bill, No. 1573, in the early hours of Monday.

"By significantly reducing the social security tax rate, we may not receive the expected amount of revenues and have a gap. But we hope that Ukrainian businesses will accept our joint position and begin to legalize and bring salaries out of the shadows due to a significant and drastic reduction of social security tax," Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said, while commenting on the document.

He said that initially the government proposed the gradual reduction of social security tax: by 35% in 2015, 48% in 2016, and 60% in 2017. Now the bill prepared for second reading proposes, if certain conditions are met, the reduction of social security tax by 60% from 2015, he said.

At the same time, Yatseniuk said that such a significant reduction of social security tax required coordination with Ukraine's international financial partners.

"If [they] have any remarks, then this provision must be reviewed," Yatseniuk said.

The prime minister, citing the provisions of the document, said that starting from January 1, 2016, during the accrual of salaries to individuals or income under civil law contracts, the social security tax rate would be applied with a ratio of 0.6.

As reported, the government bill initially envisaged the reduction of social security tax by the amount of wages exceeding two minimum salaries (UAH 2,436 per month). Yatseniuk did not say in his speech whether this provision was removed from the final wording of the document.