The essence of term «tax burden» is justified and its impact on the domestic economy is evaluated. The fact that the state tax policy in Ukraine is mainly focused on the maximum use of fiscal functions is proved. Imperfect tax legislation does not provide favorable conditions for the enterprises and creates excessive tax burden for them.
The author’s own interpretation of the tax burden is formulated. So the tax burden should be understood as the total amount of taxes, fees, charges paid by the entity to budgets and trust funds. The level of tax burden and its value for some taxes at the micro level (local companies) are generalized. An integral indicator of the tax burden of enterprises is offered. It can be considered as the object of taxation management because it reflects the share of tax in relation to the net profit of the company, as well as measures to optimize the tax burden to stimulate local entrepreneurship entities. The local (micro and macro-economic) activities for optimization are determined. The tax burden of enterprises of European countries and the main directions of tax planning on the basis of international experience are outlined.
The main directions of improvement of the tax burden management in Ukraine in the context of further development prospects and European integration are proposed. 

taxation, tax burden, tax planning, tax burden optimization, tax benefit