Summary:  There were revealed the sources of taxation and taxation system development trends. There was studied a work by Adam Smith as a founder of the first scientific theory of taxation. There had been analyzed the essence of tax and considered the types thereof. There were highlighted the specificities of taxation in various states. There was considered an opportunity for application of some methodologies of foreign practice in the taxation field of Ukraine.

Keywords:  tax policy, taxation, taxation forms, tax revenues, tax rates.