Pevkur received the title because of two Cabinet policies - the continued high rate of the unemployment insurance premium and the consolidation of unemployment aid reserves into the government's treasury. The Unemployment Insurance Fund's reserves must be used for their intended purpose and not for ensuring balance in the public sector or covering unrelated costs, the association said in a statement.

Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi were both named accomplices of the taxpayers' foe for their roles in establishing those policies.

The association did not hand out a taxpayers' friend award this year. According to its statement, the land tax exemption for homeowners, which comes into effect in Tallinn this year and nationwide in 2013, was the main contender for the title. However, as both the state and the capital raised a number of other taxes last year, it instead gave Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar an encouragement award, and Urmas Reinsalu, chairman of IRL, seen as the leading force in the land tax exemption movement, a consolation prize. 

Fuel retailer Statoil, which won an exemption in Administrative Court from Tallinn sales tax, received a special prize for setting an example for other retailers.

Ingrid Teesalu