Characteristics of taxes: functions, methods and principles

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The tax system is a set of taxes and fees collected from citizens and organizations in accordance with the procedure enshrined in law. The need to characterize the tax system follows from the fundamental tasks of the country. The historical features of the development of the state determine each stage of the development of the system of fiscal taxation. The structure, organization, characteristics of the tax system of the state indicate the level of its development in the economy. In this article we will talk about the current fiscal taxation in our country. Let us give and describe a brief description of state taxes.

Tax principles

The main dogmas of building the fiscal system in Russia are defined by the main law in the tax legislation - the Code. In Russia, there is a tax system consisting of three levels:

• federal;
• regional;
• local.

The Tax Code, which is currently the main legislative document on fiscal collections, consists of two parts, describing:

• main principles of the system of taxes and fees;
• relations between citizens, organizations and the state on specific types of payments.

Principles of taxation

The efficiency of the fiscal system is ensured by strict observance of the rules of taxation laid down in the law. Many existing tax systems are based on four basic principles:

• Justice.
• Definiteness.
• Convenience.
• Savings.

The principles of the system of taxes and fees in our country are formulated in the first part of the Code. The third article of this part describes the main characteristics of taxes and fees:

• All payers must pay statutory taxes.
• Fiscal fees should not discriminate or infringe on anyone's rights.
• It is not allowed to establish different rates of taxes and fees or fiscal incentives depending on the property or nationality of persons.
• Taxes must be justified.
• Taxes and fees that violate the country's economic space must not be introduced.
• It is not allowed to levy taxes and fees that have the characteristics of taxes in our country, but are not provided for in fiscal legislation.
• When introducing taxes, all elements of fiscal taxation should be spelled out in the law.
• All disputable questions about adopted toenforcement taxes and fees are resolved in favor of the payer of the fee.

Items of tax

The definition of the concept of "tax" and the general characteristics of taxes are presented in the eighth article of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. A tax is a mandatory fee paid by an organization or a citizen in the form of withdrawal to the treasury of funds belonging to them by right of ownership, professional management or operational management of funds in order to ensure the activities of the country, municipality formations.

All elements of the tax must be fixed by law:

• subject;
• object;
• base for tax;
• rate;
• period;
• benefits;
• accrual order;
• procedure and terms of payment.

The subject of the fiscal collection is a person who is obliged to pay taxes to the state treasury. Sometimes the tax can be shifted by the subject of the collection to another person. This applies to indirect taxes. The subject of the tax is understood as an individual who formally has to pay it. The bearer of the fiscal tax is the person who actually pays it. This distinction plays an important role in characterizing taxes.

Fiscal legislation establishes that the following are recognized as subjects:

• legal entities and citizens;
• individual business owners.

The object of fiscal taxation is an important characteristic of taxes and is an object subject to taxation. The following objects are legalized by fiscal legislation:

• profit;
• cost of goods or services;
• total income of citizens;
• means of transport;
• property.

The tax base is another value, physical characteristic of taxes. It serves to measure the object of fiscal taxation and is the amount with which the tax is calculated.

The tax rate is the amount of fiscal accruals per base unit for tax calculation.

Tax rates are percentage and fixed. Interest rates are tied directly to the calculation base. Fixed rates are set in absolute terms per unit of the tax base.

For the tax payment period, a year or other time period is taken, after which the base for the tax is determined and the amount payable is calculated. For each fiscal fee, its own period is fixed, it can be a year, a quarter or another time period.

Tax benefits are the benefits provided to certain categories of payers compared to other payers.

To date, the fiscal legislation provides for the following preferential system:

• tax-free minimum;
• opportunity not to pay taxes;
• reducing rates;
• exemption from taxation of specific elements of the object of collection.

In order for the object of taxation to be considered as such, the general description of taxes must contain an indication that with the presence of this object, the payer has obligations to pay them.

Whenhelp elements in the fiscal legislation establishes a procedure that provides for the procedure for calculating fees. The above elements are a general description of taxes.

Criteria for the operation of the taxation system

Quality criteria that are a general characteristic of the fiscal system:

• Balanced budget of the country.
• Efficiency. The fiscal policy pursued should be conducive to the sustainable economic development of certain industries.
• Low inflation. The fiscal policy pursued should ensure the correct balance of all fees in order to achieve price stability and prevent inflation.
• Efficiency of social policy.
• Timely and complete payment of taxes.

Prospects for development

Main trends in the development of the system of taxes and fees:

• Reducing the fiscal burden.
• Elimination of contradictions in the legislation governing fiscal relations.
• Gradual transfer of the fiscal burden from the company to the mandatory rent for the use of natural resources.
• Increasing the weight of direct fees, reducing the share of indirect taxes.
• Development of fiscal federalism.
• Improvement and strict observance of the principles of building a system of taxes and fees in the country.
• Increased political accountability.
• Flexible response of the taxation system to changes in market conditions ineconomy.
• Improving fiscal discipline and tax culture of payers.
• Equalizing the terms of taxation by reducing and structuring fiscal benefits.
• Improving the system of control and responsibility for committing offenses in the field of fiscal legislation.

Types of taxes

In our country, fiscal fees are set depending on their attribution to one or another level of the budget:

• Federal-level taxes established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and mandatory for payment throughout our country.
• Regional and local taxes and fees established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, regional laws of the constituent entities of the country, as well as regulatory legal acts of representative bodies of local self-government. Taxes at the regional level are obligatory for payment for citizens and organizations located on the territory of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and taxes at the local level - for municipalities.

When adopting a regional or local level tax, the following are determined:

• fiscal fee rates;
• order and periods of payment;
• reporting forms, the procedure and deadlines for their submission.

Legislative bodies of the subjects of the country and local governments may also provide for fiscal benefits and rules for their use by a citizen or organization.

Federal taxes and fees

Let's list the fiscal fees related to the federal budget:

• VAT. An indirect tax that isa form of withdrawal to the country's treasury of a share of the cost of goods created at all stages of production, contributed to the budget as goods are sold.
• Excises. Another indirect tax imposed at the time of production on tobacco, wine and other mass-produced products within the state.
• Tax on the financial result of organizations. The base rate is 20% (3% is transferred to the federal budget, and 17% to the regional budget).
• Capital gains tax. Fee on income of individuals and legal entities, levied on realized capital gains, which is obtained from the sale of securities, precious metals and property.
• Citizens' income tax.
• Contributions to social off-budget funds of the country. This mainly includes UST.
• State duty. This is a fee collected from taxpayers when they apply to government agencies at a certain level.
• Customs duties and fees. These are obligatory payments paid to customs authorities in connection with the transportation of goods across the state border. Payment of customs duty is a prerequisite for the goods to cross the border and is ensured, if necessary, by coercive measures.
• Fiscal fee for the use of the bowels of the earth. This, for example, is a payment for land or sea area.
• Fiscal fee for the reproduction of the mineral base and raw material reserves.
• Fiscal fee for additional monetary result from oil production and so on.
• Tax on the right to use objects of the natural, water world.
• Forest fiscal fee. Organizations are recognized as taxpayersand citizens using the forest fund.
• Water fiscal levy. Taxpayers are organizations and citizens that carry out special water use in accordance with the legislation of the country.
• Environmental fiscal fee. Payment by organizations for the negative impact on nature that they have in the conduct of their activities.
• License fees at the state level. The maximum fee rate is 10%.

Taxes and fees at the regional level

Let's list the fiscal fees related to the budget of the regions:

• Tax on company assets. The object is the movable and immovable property of the organization, accounted for on the balance sheet in the form of fixed assets.
• Property tax. The fee will be calculated based on the average market value per square meter of the property and taking into account the rate, which can vary from 0, 1 to 2%.

• Fiscal tax on roads. This is a fee for trail damage.
• Transport fiscal fee. A tax levied on vehicle owners.

• Fiscal sales tax. Indirect fee charged at the time of purchase of goods. As a rule, it is calculated as a share of the cost of the goods sold.
• Regional license fees. Payers are recognized as organizations and business owners who acquire licenses from authorized bodies, stipulated by the legislation for the implementation ofterritory of the subject of certain activities.

Local level taxes

Let's list the fiscal fees replenishing local budgets:

• Land tax. This fiscal fee is paid by organizations and citizens who own land plots on the right of ownership, permanent use or lifetime ownership.
• Citizens' property tax. The payers are the owners of property recognized as an object of fiscal taxation.

• Ad tax. Payers are organizations and individuals advertising products. The object of collecting the fee is the cost of works and services for the distribution and production of advertising.
• Inheritance or gift tax. Citizens who receive ownership of property from other persons are recognized as payers of the inheritance and donation fee.
• Local license fees. Payers are organizations and business owners who acquire licenses to carry out certain types of activities in the local territory.

Corporate taxes

Let's characterize the taxes of organizations. In our country, organizations pay the following taxes:

• Federal fees: VAT, excises, tax on financial results, on the extraction of minerals, state duty, water tax, fee for the use of natural world objects.
• Regional level fees: corporate asset tax, vehicle tax.
• Local level: land tax.

Reasons for attributiontaxes to different levels of budgets

Comparative characteristics of taxes allow us to conclude that many fiscal fees, which, in fact, have one object of taxation, belong to different levels of government.

It should be noted that the Tax Code of the Russian Federation creates the possibility of disagreements between the interests of subjects and local authorities. In the event of the introduction of a tax at the regional level on real estate in the territory of the subject, the effect of local fees on the property of citizens and land tax, which are the main sources of funds for the local budgets, will end.

Results

Characteristics of taxes in the Russian Federation allows us to conclude that they, as a complex phenomenon, include a combination of certain elements. Each of which has its own legal meaning. The Tax Code of the Russian Federation introduced a rule: a tax is considered established when the relevant fiscal legislation defines the essential elements of taxation. This determines the legal characterization of taxes. In some cases, the imposition of the tax may also provide for appropriate exemptions.

A special fiscal regime is a special system for calculating and paying taxes and fees for a specific time period, applied in accordance with the procedure established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and laws adopted in accordance with it.

The concept of each element of the fiscal fee is universal, it is used in the processes of all states. These elements have been used since the inceptionstate.