The article carries out analysis and assessment of the fiscal burden on the entities of economic activity in Ukraine, researches the issues of tax optimization as the main prerequisite for the unshadowing of business and improving the investment image of the country. Because an efficient, «smart» and balanced tax policy is the primary source of sustainable development of the economy, the motivating factor, which, by means of fisk, facilitates the growth of the country’s investment attractiveness. The necessity for the tax regulation and stimulation of environmentally friendly, waste-free alternative industries is substantiated, because this issue has become the main challenge of functioning of the economic system of Ukraine as a whole. A number of major shortcomings of Ukraine’s existing tax policy is allocated. A comparative analysis of the tax pressure for several types of taxes in Ukraine and the European Union is carried out. The main negative aspects of the previous tax reform on the specific types of taxes and the social contributions (income tax, value-added tax, profit tax, single social contribution) are formulated. The author substantiates the expediency of a gradual introduction of the tax on withdrawn capital with the simultaneous abolition of the income tax, which will be the main motivating factor for the accumulation of financial resources from the economic entities and the source of their reinvestment, to expand operations, create new jobs and introduce new high-tech kinds of production. The main constraints of business development in Ukraine are analyzed, among which the most common are the following: high levels of corruption and inflation; existence of a military conflict in the country; fierce competition and insecurity on the part of the judiciary, etc., but the greatest share is reserved to the significant tax burden, complexity of tax administration, and pressure on the part of the State fiscal authorities.