Were investigated the issues of the labor tax burden structure in Russia, including the foreign point of view. There are several methods for calculating the tax burden indicator, the value of which varies depending on the selected base indicator. Tax preferences, being one of the tools to increase labor productivity, mean reducing the tax burden on labor. The paper is devoted to the calculation of tax burdens and the defi nition of robust relationship with the production workforce. A correlation analysis was carried out, based on the identifi cation of a weak connection between the general tax burden and the production workforce. But at the same time, a stable relationship has been established between the tax burden and insurance contributions to extrabudgetary funds and labor productivity in agriculture.