KIEV, April 1 – The reduction of the rate of profit tax from 25% to 23% from April 1, 2011 could lead to around UAH 1.5 billion being raised for the national budget, Vitaliy Zakharchenko, head of State Tax Administration of Ukraine (STAU) said at an online conference.

"Of course, we've analyzed the possible losses to the national budget in connection with the change of tax on profit to 23%. It could reach some UAH 1.5 billion," he said.

He said that the losses would be compensated for by the increase in proceeds from value added tax (VAT) and bringing the economy out of the shadows.