Over the last three years, Belarus has abolished 12 taxes, five of them in 2008, First Deputy Minister for Taxes and Duties of Belarus Vladimir Poluyan told reporters in Minsk on February 20. According to him, over the period under review, the ministry has significantly simplified ecological tax, brought changes into calculation of VAT and other taxes. The Tax Ministry reduced the number of regulatory acts by 87 documents. The Belarusian tax system is being improved. The goal of the reform remains the same: to simplify and expand taxation base, reduces taxes, regulate benefits, the first deputy minister highlighted. According to Vladimir Poluyan, last year was most fruitful in this area. Since January 1, 2008 Belarus has abolished a number of payments – the tax on road users, payments to the construction development fund, local tax on trade, tax on outdoor advertising in foreign languages and others. Earlier these taxes (about Br1 trillion) were involved in tax turnover while now they remain at the disposal of taxpayers. These funds are invested in production development and technical renovation what, in the long run, will boost production and tax receipts. Vladimir Poluyan noted that this year the tax burden will be reduced further. In 2009, the tax system will become simpler as a number of taxes and fees are reduced, tax entities are unified and tax calculation procedures simplified. The ministry intends to simplify the ecological tax which is composed of eight various payments. “In 2009, simpler tax rules will let the taxpayers use additional Br1 trillion or may be more what will benefit the economic development of the country,” Vladimir Poluyan believes.