Importance The level of shadow economy in Russia is high. Some researchers suggest that the reason is a high tax burden on business. The article studies the impact of tax burden and other elements of the tax system on changing the size and scope of the shadow economy. Objectives The objective is to identify the impact of the tax system on the scope and behavior of the shadow economy. Methods I apply statistical methods to make a correlation analysis of the dependence of the shadow economy's size on the tax burden (share of taxes in GDP), on the time spent by taxpayers to formalize and pay taxes, and on the share of public revenue in GDP. The World Bank data served as an information source. Results The article presents the findings of the correlation analysis on the influence of tax and budget systems' elements on the size of the shadow economy. I reviewed the results of social surveys on tax burden in Russia and defined focal points of the Russian tax policy providing for the shadow economy reduction. Conclusions The study identified the inverse dependence of the shadow economy's size on the tax burden. In the period under analysis, the tax burden was accompanied by a reduction in the scope of the shadow economy in Russia. The increased time spent on assessing, formalizing and paying taxes has a direct adverse impact on the shadow economy growth.
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