OREANDA-NEWS. OJSC VolgaTelecom is “Taxpayer – 2007” National prizewinner. The prize was instituted by Megaregional Employers' Organization with the support of the Accounting Chamber of the Russian Federation, the Committee of budget and taxes of the State Duma, Federal Tax Service, and Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The prize is awarded for the second time and again VolgaTelecom was awarded the high prize.

Most responsible taxpayers were selected on the basis of research of financial statements indicators for the last several years conducted by the analysts of Megaregional Employers' Organization who used Rosstat’s data. The experts were guided by the following prime criteria in decision making:
- prompt payment in full of income tax;
- payments to government non-budgetary funds;
- filing tax returns in full and at date designated.

The panel of experts ranked the obtained information on regional and industry’s basis. The prize’s structure allows to interest the companies engaged in various businesses from all regions of the Russian Federation, small population centers including. The total number of nominees evaluated by the panel of experts to choose the winners exceeded 200 organizations. The prize’s institution is the demonstration of the fact to what extent the state is interested in developing favorable conditions for the operation of Russian companies, for meeting their social obligations.

Nikolai Popkov, VolgaTelecom’s chief accountant, when getting the prize in Moscow noted that, “this award is the appreciation of the level of the Company’s information transparency and also the recognition of the management activities and the entire collective of VolgaTelecom, the proof of the Company’s goodwill as decent and honest entity of the society. It is these criteria which are taken into account by national and foreign partners when making decisions of long-term cooperation”, - added Nikolai Popkov.

The primary objective of National prize “Taxpayer of the year” is to encourage the nurture of legal consciousness of Russian businessmen, to form public opinion that taxpaying is a natural business standard, and as consequence the reduction of tax offences. The prize institutors tend to identify and make publicly known the companies which are most responsible in such a serious mission as taxpaying, thus doing their duty to their country, consolidating the country’s welfare, and social protection of population.

“Taxpayer of the year” prize is a bronze sculptural design in the form of Old Russian coin. The coin’s part - the segment equal to 13% of the design area represents the tax burden which each citizen bears to its state and the responsibility for the country’s future. The prize is the designer’s work of notable sculptor Mikhail Krasilnikov.