HTP Belarus provides special business environment for IT business. Due to the legislative initiative of the Belarus government, IT companies are exempt from all corporate taxes, including VAT, profit, real estate and land taxes. Individual income tax has a fixed rate of 9% for the employees of HTP companies. First residents were registered in 2006. Currently 94 companies are registered as the Park's residents. Half of Belarus HTP resident-companies are foreign companies and joint ventures. The export share in the total production volume is 80 per cent. The resident companies are successful on North American and European hi-tech markets. Today they have customers in 52 countries around the globe. HTP attractiveness is based not on tax benefits and costs alone, but on knowledge, innovation and highly qualified human resources. Belarusian programmers get trained at the training centers of IBM, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, and other world IT leaders. Another distinctive feature of Belarus developers is that on top of professional skill set, they also have deep knowledge in mathematics, engineering, physics, and other sciences. Any company operating in the sphere of computer-based technologies can apply for residency within the HTP and benefit from tax-incentives and other advantages it provides.