Tax and tax payments - what is it? Classification, types, concept and types

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

Currently, the tax system is a set of taxes and fees established by the current legislation of the Russian Federation, which are levied in the budgets of different levels. This system is based on the principles provided by law. Let us consider in more detail the issues of essence, classification, functions and calculation of tax payments.

Fees and taxes

According to article 8 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a tax should be understood as a mandatory payment, which is collected on an individual and free of charge basis. It is paid by individuals and organizations in the form of alienation of funds that belong to them on the basis of ownership, operational management or economic management. Tax payments are a category whose main purpose is to ensure the activities of municipal formations or the state in financial terms.

It is advisable to consider the fee as a fee of mandatory value, which is charged fromindividuals and organizations. It should be noted that its payment serves as one of the conditions for the implementation (with respect to payers of fees by state bodies, local government structures, other authorized officials and bodies) of legally significant actions. It should be added that this list also includes the issuance of licenses (special permits) and the provision of certain rights.

Features of payments

Tax payments are a category endowed with a number of individual features. So, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 8 of the tax legislation in force in the territory of the Russian Federation, it is advisable to indicate the following characteristics:

1. Required. It should be added that a separate group is distinguished in the classification, in which mandatory tax payments are presented. However, they are all mandatory, but not all are subject to state control.
2. Free of charge on an individual basis.
3. Alienation of money that belongs to individuals and organizations (legal entities, as well as structures without forming a legal entity) on the right of ownership, economic management or operational management.
4. Tax payments are a category that has a clear focus on financing the activities of municipalities or the state.

Next, it is advisable to consider the characteristics of the fee as an independent unit of tax law:

1. Compulsory.
2. Fee is one of the conditions for the implementation by state and other structures of actions that are significant in a legal sense, in the interests of payers. This definition is relevant at a time when the budget for tax payments is formed from funds that are paid primarily in the interests of the state and municipal structures.

It should be noted that the Tax Code of the Russian Federation defines the following fees that are valid on the territory of the country: federal licensing fees, fees for the right to use aquatic biological resources and wildlife, customs, local and regional licensed types.

The essence of tax payments

It should be borne in mind that tax payments are a tool that is used to regulate the behavior and activities of economic agents. It either encourages certain actions through tax cuts, or hinders through tax increases. Currently, the state can receive significant amounts of money at its disposal, which are collected in the form of tax payments, as it has the right to enforce legally. Tax payments of individual entrepreneurs and organizations can be defined as government revenues that are collected regularly through the right of coercion belonging to the state. With the help of the second approach, taxes are interpreted as gratuitous obligatory payments of an irrevocable nature, which are collected by structures in order tomeet government needs for financial resources.

From the definition, it is clear that these payments should be considered not only as payments, in the name of which there is the word "tax", for example, a tax payment for value added tax, income tax, and so on. Customs duties or deductions to off-budget funds of state significance are also determined by the corresponding nature, which also imply a mandatory condition. It can be contributions, for example, to a pension fund. It is important to know that all submitted payments in the complex form the tax system of the state.

Functional

It is worth noting that the tax payments of an organization or individual are determined by the relevant functional. Under the function of the tax it is necessary to understand the manifestation of its socio-economic meaning in action. The functionality indicates how the public purpose of the considered economic category is carried out. In the modern world, all payments in the tax period perform two key functions:

1. Fiscal, which primarily consists in providing the state and individual municipal formations with the resources necessary for the implementation of its (their) activities. In other words, tax payments are the source of government revenue.
2. Regulatory, thanks to which tax payments either restrain or stimulate certain types of economic (economic) activities. In other words, taxes playthe role of a regulator of the economic system, a kind of tool for the implementation of specific goals.

It is advisable to add that the level of implementation of the functionality presented above depends on which set of economic instruments the state has chosen. Taken together, these funds represent a special mechanism of a tax nature, through which the state tax policy is carried out. When using taxes as a regulatory tool, the state encourages economic agents to take certain actions (in this case, tax payments are reduced) or, conversely, it prevents the implementation of certain operations (in this case, it is appropriate to increase taxes).

Tax increase: consequences

As it turned out, there may be different indicators in accounting for tax payments in different periods. Let's take a look at the consequences of the increase in mandatory payments. It must be taken into account that they have a strong influence on the motivation of economic entities. On the one hand, the creation of a tax, one way or another, causes a desire not to pay it, in other words, to evade action. This desire can be realized either as the payer's withdrawal into the shadow economic sector, or as an attempt to shift the burden associated with the tax. This is how the seller, when the price of a commodity product rises, shifts a certain share of the tax burden onto the buyer. On the other hand, economic agents tend to change their own behavior. Under the influence of the tax, the company reduces the volume of production, becausewhich reduces its overall profit. Thus, the interest in the production of this particular amount of marketable products also decreases.

When tax advances are increased, the employees of the respective enterprise may reduce the supply of labor because they feel poorer. As a rule, they decide in this way to compensate for the decrease in income. The logic is as follows: a decent salary for a longer working time. If you study the capital market, then the corresponding tax payments in a particular economic area will cause an outflow of capital due to a decrease in the profitability of investments.

From the above calculations of tax payments, it can be seen that the introduction of a tax on certain markets (capital, labor, marketable products, and so on) corrects the equilibrium situation, usually in the direction of deterioration. One way or another, this means the possibility of losses in the efficiency of resource allocation. It is worth noting that at present, taxation can also imply a positive result, for example, if structures or persons involved in the formation of external effects of a negative nature are taxed.

Clarification of tax payment: sample

After making certain errors in the payment order in the process of transferring the mandatory payment, the taxpayer has the right to issue a letter to the tax service regarding the clarification of the corresponding payment. This provision is given in paragraph 7 of Article 45 of the Tax Code. It is important to note that by using the refinement patterntax payment, not all errors can be corrected. Here is a list of what cannot be changed:

• Federal Treasury account number.
• Name of the banking institution that is the beneficiary.

If it is an error in the details, then the obligation related to tax payments will be considered unfulfilled. As a result, you will have to transfer the tax amount a second time, as well as pay pen alties.

Classification

It is worth noting that different taxes have different effects on individual groupings of economic agents. In addition, they are charged differently. Today there are a number of classifications of tax payments. To begin with, consider the varieties by object. So allocate direct taxes. They are paid by legal entities and individuals. It is advisable to include income tax, income tax and property tax in this group. Indirect mandatory payments should be understood as those payments that are levied on activities, resources, services and commercial products. It is worth adding that indirect taxes include VAT (value added tax), sales tax, import duty, and so on.

Nuances of separation by object

It should be noted that the classical requirement for the correlation of systems of direct and indirect taxation is the following idea: the fiscal function is implemented, as a rule, by indirect taxes; direct payments have a regulatory function. Here, under the fiscal function, first of all followsunderstand the formation of state budget revenues. The regulatory one refers to the regulation of the reproduction process, the degree of solvent demand of people, the rate of capital accumulation with the help of tax mechanisms.

In addition, the regulatory effect of direct tax payments is manifested in the separation (differentiation) of tax rates and benefits. Through tax regulation, the state is able to ensure a balance of national and corporate interests, as well as create comfortable conditions for the development of certain areas of society, organize an increase in the number of jobs and stimulate investment and innovation processes. It should be noted that taxes have a significant impact on the structure and level of aggregate demand. It is through this factor that they can hinder or facilitate production processes. In addition, the ratio of the price of marketable products and production costs depends on taxes.

Classification by subject

Today, the following types of tax payments are distinguished in accordance with the subjects:

• central;
• local.

It is important to note that a certain system operates on the territory of the Russian Federation, consisting of three levels:

1. Federal taxes, which are set by the federal government and credited to the relevant budget.
2. Taxes of the regional type, which are within the competence of the subject composition of the Russian Federation.
3. Local taxes that are formed and collectedgoverning structures of local importance.

Other classifications

In accordance with the principle of targeted application, it is currently customary to distinguish the following types of taxes:

1. Marked payouts. In this case, the tax is associated with a certain direction of spending money.
2. Unmarked payouts. There is no question of any directions here, these taxes can be spent at the discretion of the state represented by specific bodies.

In accordance with the nature of taxation, the following tax categories are distinguished:

• proportional (in other words, the share of tax payments is in income);
• progressive (the share of tax payments increases with income growth);
• regressive (the share of mandatory payments decreases with an increase in profits).

Depending on the sources, the following types of tax payments and expenses are distinguished:

1. Refer to the sale of products, services or works. It would be expedient to include here the land tax, as well as mandatory payments provided for users of toll roads.
2. Included in revenue. These are VAT, export tariffs, excises.
3. Related to financial results (car parking, educational institutions, landscaping, and so on).

So, we have examined the main types of taxes, studied their features and functions. In addition, we analyzed the essence of this category and the issue of clarifying payments incase of an error. It is worth remembering that aspects of the topic studied may undergo certain changes, which is why it is important to follow all the news.