What taxes are indirect taxes?

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

If there is a state, then there are taxes. These forced payments in favor of the country's budget have long become an integral part of the life of people and companies. Many citizens, however, have a poor understanding of what taxes and how they pay. Probably everyone knows about personal income tax and income tax. But there are other indirect fees that are also important to be aware of. In this article, we will consider which taxes are indirect and what is their distinguishing feature.

The concept of indirect tax

Unlike direct payments, indirect payments are determined not by taxpayers' incomes, but are set as a surcharge on tariffs or prices of goods. By purchasing this or that product, the consumer pays not only to the manufacturer, but also to the state. Indirect taxes include those that are included by the owner of the enterprise in the costthe product it produces or the service it provides. From the proceeds received from the sale, he gives a certain amount to the budget (tax), and keeps the rest for himself (profit).

Thus, the real payers of indirect taxes are the final consumers, and the producers of products act as intermediaries - collectors of payments. Hence the name - "indirect".

Classification and types of indirect taxes

It should be said that 90% of all budget revenues are precisely the payments listed below. They are the main source of income for the state, which allows it to perform its many functions and cover the main government expenses. Indirect taxes include the following groups of payments:

1. Universal Consumption Taxes (VAT).
2. Individual tax payments as a percentage of the cost of goods (excises).
3. Taxes on goods in the field of foreign trade (customs duties) - are paid when goods cross the state border. Separate duties on import (import) and export (export) products.
4. Fiscal payments for monopoly public services - execution of some documents, payment for various licenses and permits.

In Russia, indirect payments include some other types of payments to the budget - deductions to various funds (housing, road, etc.), social insurance contributions (they are allowed to be included in the amount of production costs). The most significant and significant are the firsttwo types of taxes - value added and excises.

VAT: short "dossier"

Each participant in the production process knows about this tax, and its creation and calculation takes place at each stage of production/circulation of goods. VAT is paid to the state as part of the cost of products (as they are sold). However, it enters the budget even before the product is sold to the final consumer. The producer pays a certain percentage of the part of the cost that was "added" to the price of the raw materials purchased for production.

VAT is calculated by determining the difference between VAT charged on manufactured goods and VAT on the purchase of materials/raw materials for its manufacture. In Russia, this fee is 18%, except when rates of 10% and 0% apply. It is paid quarterly, and the object of taxation, in addition to goods and services sold, may be:

• construction and installation work for self-consumption;
• goods imported into Russia from other countries (for production purposes);
• transfer of goods and services for own needs (if the cost of them is not taken into account when paying income tax).

There are also situations where an organization may be exempt from paying VAT. Such cases are described in the Tax Code, Article 149.

Excises: features of payment

Like VAT, excises are indirect taxes, but they are calculated and paid on an individual basis. This type of payment is very similar to customs duties, but is established, as a rule, in relation to consumer goods within the country. This tax is a fairly high premium on the cost of products classified by the state in a certain group. First of all, these are tobacco products and alcohol.

For each separate category of goods, its own amount of excises is set - on an individual basis. Often their size reaches half or even two-thirds of the price of a product or service. In addition to the above groups, excisable goods also include gasoline, fuel, cars, etc.

Customs duties

Indirect taxes include customs duties. This type of payment is collected by the customs service and is determined, like excises, on an individual basis. According to the differentiated customs tariff applied in Russia, the amount of the duty depends on the country of imported goods. If the Russian Federation has favorable trade and political relations with the state of origin of the goods, then base rates of 100% of the established tariff are applied. Otherwise, increased fees are applied - in the amount of 200% of the customs tariff.

The fee can be calculated in various ways. Depending on this, it is classified as one of the following types:

• ad valorem - defined as a percentage of the value of the goods;
• specific - has a specific value (in Russia it is set ineuro) per product unit (piece, kg, etc.);
• combined - both calculation methods are applied simultaneously (for example, a certain percentage, but not less than the specified amount).

Declaration for indirect taxes is submitted for payment of customs duty within 15 days from the date of presentation of the relevant goods to the customs authority.

Conclusion

Tax accounting for indirect taxes and their payment to the budget is carried out by producers of goods and services, and the final burden falls on end consumers. This is their key feature - the tax bearer and the taxpayer are different entities. Such a system to some extent facilitates the collection of payments by the state. Indirect taxes are those that are levied on prices and not on income (they may be unofficial, and therefore will not be a tax base). The amount of revenues to the budget depends on the cost of purchased goods, which is ultimately more profitable. In developing countries, this type of mandatory payments is the main part of state tax revenues (2/3 or more).