during the severe currency crisis of 2011 the government spent about 12% of GDP on net acquisitions of financial assets – far above the fiscal surplus of 3% of GDP, which required a substantial debt increase and assets sales. After the crisis of 2011, the size of these operations became smaller (see Figure 4b), but because of the debt accumulated between 2007 and 2011, the government needed to keep the fiscal surplus in order to make payments on the principal, which limited its capacity to redistribute.

**Figure 4. General government balance, 2000–2015**

<!-- Start of picture text --> 53 4.00 12<br>51 3.33<br>10<br>49 2.67<br>47 2.00 8<br>45 1.33<br>6<br>43 0.67<br>41 0.00 4<br>39 -0.67<br>2<br>37 -1.33<br>0<br>35 -2.00<br>-2<br>Balance (RHS)<br>Revenues<br>Expenditures Net acquisition of financial assets<br>Average, 2000-2010 (RHS) Net incurrence of liabilities<br>Average, 2011-2015 (RHS) Balance<br>(a) General government revenues, expenditures, and balance, (b) General government balance* and its financing,<br>2000–2015, % of GDP 2000–2015, % of GDP<br>2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015<br>2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015<br><!-- End of picture text -->

* Net lending (+)/net borrowing (-). _Source_ : GFS.

The most stable sources of government revenue are contributions to social insurance and personal income tax (see Table 1), as their tax base is mainly wage income, whose share in GDP is quite stable. VAT and excise taxes are also quite stable, relying mainly on household consumption, which is even less volatile than household incomes. In 2015, these four sources together generated 60.1% of all general government revenues, while social insurance contributions and VAT – 45.1%.

**Table 1. General government revenue**

||**BYR mln***|**% of GDP**|
|---|---|---|
|**Total Revenue & Grants**|**37 666.540**|**43.3**|
|Tax Revenue|31 991.929|36.8|
|Direct taxes_of which_|7 319.485|8.4|
|Personal Income Tax|3 700.907|4.3|
|Corporate Income Tax|2 384.990|2.7|
|Taxes on Property|1 233.588|1.4|
|Contributions to Social Insurance|9 715.236|11.2|
|Indirect Taxes_of which_|14 853.340|17.1|
|VAT|7 267.080|8.4|
|Turnover & other general taxes on goods and services|567.897|0.7|
|Excise Taxes|1 944.165|2.2|
|Customs Duties|864.359|1.0|
|Taxes on Exports|2 992.432|3.4|
|Other indirect taxes|1 217.408|1.4|
|Other taxes|103.867|0.1|
|Nontax Revenue|5 599.073|6.4|
|Grants|75.539|0.1|

* Taking into account denomination in 10 000 times of 2016. _Source_ : GFS.

The corporate income tax, taxes on exports, and non-tax revenue together brought 29.1% of the general government revenues, but they are far more volatile for a variety of reasons. The corporate income tax and a large portion of non-tax revenue depend on the financial status of the SOEs. Thus, on the one hand, the government subsidizes them, on the other – withdraws profit and collects corporate income tax. _Ceteris paribus_ , the lower the subsidies, the lower the SOEs’ profit and the related government revenues. Fiscal challenges force the government to reduce subsidies, and, hence, the tax/revenue base. The size of the revenue from taxes on exports depends on the current 7