KYIV, Nov 28 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed into law on Thursday Ukraine’s first wartime tax increases as the war against Russia reaches its 34th month.

The government is raising the war tax for residents to 5% from 1.5% paid currently on personal income and is introducing the war tax for tens of thousands of individual entrepreneurs and small businesses.

It also increases some rental payments, taxes commercial banks’ profits at 50%, and raises taxes on the profits of other financial institutions to 25%.

Marchenko said that the approval of tax increases was also a vital step for Ukraine’s financial program with the International Monetary Fund, a key lender. The government and IMF’s staff have reached an agreement that would give Kyiv access to about $1.1 billion but the Fund’s executive board must still weigh in on the deal.