Vitebsk tax officials have written the history of the service's development in the region and are creating a virtual museum
The publication was prepared by the inspectorate's staff in both print and electronic formats. In the future, it is planned to create a virtual museum of the history of the tax authorities of the Vitebsk region based on the documents and materials of the electronic version of the book, noted the head of the regional inspectorate.
The preparation of the original corporate publication took a year. The book opens with a brief historical essay on the history of the Vitebsk Governorate and the system of state institutions of the late 18th century, when the functions of collecting taxes and arrears were assigned to the chamber expedition under the governor, later transformed into the treasury chamber. The Belarusian treasury chamber began its activities in Vitebsk in May 1797 as part of 4 expeditions: treasury estates; for revision, salt, and wine affairs; accounting; and the provincial treasury.
More detailed information on the institutions of the Vitebsk Governorate, including those involved in tax collection, appeared only in the 1860s, when the Vitebsk Provincial Statistical Committee began publishing "Memorable Books of the Vitebsk Governorate." In addition, the annual directory "Address Calendar" reflected changes in the composition of officials of a particular department, which also helped to obtain information about the structure of the tax service of that time. The period from the beginning of the 20th century is described most fully, due to the active norm-setting activities of the young Soviet state, including in the field of taxation. Copies of archival documents are placed in chronological order and are accompanied by a legend indicating their storage location and other data that can be used to find the original in the archive.
When collecting and systematizing information, employees studied authentic archival documents of the 19th and early 20th centuries, obtained information from publications by Soviet authors, and familiarized themselves with historical materials provided by the State Archive of the Vitebsk Region and the V.I. Lenin Regional Library. Many documents were found in the collections of the National Library of Belarus and the National Library of Latvia.
Subsequently, when creating the virtual museum, in addition to documents and publication materials, it is planned to include information about individuals who headed tax presences and the Treasury Chamber (institutions that became prototypes of tax authorities) at different times, as well as heads of inspections at the present stage. It is also planned to place materials on the professional and sports achievements of employees, and to reflect their active participation in the public life of the region.