July 9, 2000, in speaking to Parliament, Putin advocated economy policies[REF] that introduced flat tax rate of 13%;[REF] the corporate rate of tax was also reduced from 35 percent to 24 percent;[REF] Small businesses also get better treatment.
In February 2009, Putin called for a single VAT rate to be "as low as possible" (at the time it stood at an average rate of 18 percent): it could be reduced to between 12 percent and 13 percent [REF].