As a manuscript
URUBKOVA IRINA ALEKSANDROVNA
PRINCIPLE OF FAIRNESS IN TAX LAW
(BY THE EXAMPLE OF THE TAX ON INCOME OF INDIVIDUALS)
dissertations for a degree
candidate of legal sciences
Moscow 2011
The dissertation was carried out at the Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov (Faculty of Law).
Scientific adviser: candidate of legal sciences, associate professor
Official opponents: Doctor of Law, Associate Professor
PhD in Law
Lead organization: | Moscow State Law Academy. O. E. Kutafina |
The defense of the dissertation will take place on October 27, 2011 in 16 hours 30 minutes at a meeting of the dissertation council D 209.002.05 at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Russian Foreign Ministry Moscow, Vernadsky Ave., 76, MGIMO (U) of the Russian Foreign Ministry, room 423.
The dissertation can be found in the library of the Moscow State Institute international relations(University) MFA of Russia Moscow, Vernadsky Ave., 76, MGIMO (U) MFA of Russia.
Scientific Secretary
dissertation council,
Doctor of Law, Professor E. Ya. Pavlov
general description of work
Relevance of the research topic. Justice is a category of moral-legal and socio-political consciousness. Justice contains the requirement of conformity, for example, between rights and duties, deeds and rewards, labor and rewards, crime and punishment.
The current legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees does not contain the concept of "fairness". However, this does not mean that the absence of a directly enshrined provision indicates a lack of desire to achieve fairness in taxation. In taxation, justice is expressed in the goal that any state sets for itself: to ensure that the interests of the state in the formation of the state budget and the interests of taxpayers in the payment of taxes.
Justice is also the starting point, the principle underlying the "correct" taxation. Since the time of Adam Smith, for several centuries, the search for criteria for fair taxation has occupied scientists, economists, lawyers, and politicians.
The principle of justice finds its expression in tax law, being the basis, the guiding principle in the formation of norms and institutions of law, determining the directions for the development and improvement of legislation on taxes and fees. In tax law, justice as a principle of law is expressed in a number of aspects, in particular: in generality, in equality of taxation, in taking into account the actual ability of the taxpayer to pay tax.
For modern Russia the topic of fair foundations of the tax system and taxes is relevant. Under conditions of strong wealth inequality in Russian society, a natural question arises about the fair distribution of income and the tax burden between its various layers.
Increasingly, the issue of introducing a progressive scale of taxation of personal income is being discussed, and bills are being proposed to introduce appropriate changes to Ch. 23 "Tax on personal income" tax code RF.
However, the essence of the concept of "justice" is understood differently by people, so it is impossible to talk about a single justice for everyone and suiting everyone, including when solving the social problem of wealth-poverty. Consequently, the state will never be able to achieve justice, but can only get closer to the desired ideal.
In this regard, the improvement of tax legislation based on the requirements of the principle of justice seems to be one of the difficult tasks facing the legislator, since it is closely related to finding a balance of interests of taxpayers and the state. At the same time, not only the perception by society of tax system as fair, but also in general its effectiveness.
The democratic law-based state, as Russia has proclaimed itself, simply cannot ignore the problem of achieving justice in the field of tax relations.
The degree of scientific development of the problem and theoretical basis research. Achieving justice is one of the "eternal" issues facing people. Since ancient times, the problems of the essence of justice, analysis of the content of this category have occupied thinkers. The study of the principle of justice is impossible without referring to the concept of justice, to the ideas of justice that were formed and developed at various stages of the development of society and the state. The paper provides a general overview of the ideas of justice in philosophy and law, based on the writings of the philosophers Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, G. Grotius, T. Hobbes, J.-J. Rousseau, I. Kant, G. Hegel, F. Engels, B. Russell, D. Rawls, O. Heffe, I. A. Ilyin.
Justice is inextricably linked with law. The issues of the correlation of justice and law, the principle of justice in law are of a general legal nature, which leads to the use of works on the theory and philosophy of law, in particular, the following scientists when writing a dissertation: S. S. Alekseeva, M. I. Baitina, A. M. Vasiliev , L. G. Grinberg, N. M. Korkunov, O. E. Leist, D. Lloyd, A. V. Malko, G. V. Maltseva, M. N. Marchenko, N. I. Matuzova, S. A Muromtsev, V. S. Nersesyants, P. I. Novgorodtsev, V. M. Khvostov, A. F. Cherdantseva, V. A. Chetvernina, B. N. Chicherina, A. I. Ekimov, L. S. Yavich .
Financial science and the science of financial law have been addressing the issue of studying the principle of justice as one of the fundamental principles of taxation for more than one century. When conducting a study of the principle of justice in tax law, the works devoted to financial science and financial law relating to the pre-revolutionary period were studied and analyzed, in particular, M. M. Alekseenko, E. N. Berendts, M. I. Bogolepov, L. K. Bukh, A. Weber, M. P. Veselovsky, Yu. A. Gagemeister, V. A. Goltsev, K. Gok, A. N. Guriev, S. I. Ilovaisky, A. A. Isaev, R. Kaufman, V. A. Lebedev, D. M. Lvov, P. P. Migulin, A. A. Nikitsky, F. Nitti, I. Kh. Ozerov, I. Yu. Patlaevsky, N. N. Pokrovsky, K. G. Rau, A. R. Svirshevsky, I. T. Tarasov, L. V. Khodsky, K. T. Eeberg, I. I. Yanzhul, V. G. Yarotsky.
In addition, it is necessary to separately indicate the research, the subject of which is income tax, the device of income taxation. First of all, these are the works of M. P. Veselovsky, A. A. Isaev, I. Kh. Ozerov, I. Yu. Patlaevsky, A. R. Svirshevsky.
This study is also based on the study of works in the field of financial and tax law Soviet and modern scientists, such as K. S. Belsky, A. V. Bryzgalin, D. V. Vinnitsky, E. Yu. Gracheva, M. A. Gurvich, A. V. Demin, M. F. Ivlieva, M V. Karaseva, I. I. Kucherov, N. P. Kucheryavenko, S. G. Pepelyaev, G. V. Petrova, E. A. Rovinsky, E. D. Sokolova, G. P. Tolstopyatenko, A. I Khudyakov, D. S. Tsypkin, R. A. Shepenko, D. M. Shchekin, and a number of other authors.
The works of economists, in particular, such as S. L. Brew, K. R. McConnell, A. Smith, V. G. Panskov, V. M. Pushkareva, D. G. Chernik, were also studied as sources for the dissertation.
Currently, in the science of Russian financial law there are no studies and monographs specifically devoted to the problem of the principle of justice in tax law. However, it should be noted that researchers turn to the consideration of the principle of justice, as a rule, when studying the principles of taxation, analyzing it as one of the principles. Thus, attention is paid to the problem of the principle of justice, in particular, in modern studies of such scientists as A. V. Bryzgalin, A. V. Demin, I. I. Kucherov, S. G. Pepelyaev, V. M. Pushkareva,.
Object of study- a complex of social relations that develop in the process of implementing the principle of justice in tax law (for example, the tax on personal income).
Subject of study- the content of the principle of justice in tax law in its theoretical and normative terms.
The purpose of the study is based on the analysis of theoretical ideas about the principle of justice that have developed in the science of financial law, as well as on the basis of legislation on taxes and fees:
1) determine the content of the principle of justice in tax law;
2) to establish whether the principle of justice finds its consistent implementation in the current legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees, in particular in Ch. 23 "Tax on personal income" of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
Achieving the goal of the study required the resolution of the following adach:
- analysis of general ideas about justice in philosophy and law;
- determination of the relationship between law and justice and the content of the principle of justice in law;
- characterization of the principles of taxation, their classifications, determination of the place of the principle of justice in the system of principles of taxation;
- identification of components, aspects of the principle of justice in tax law;
‒ analysis of the current tax legislation from the standpoint of the implementation of certain aspects of the principle of justice in the taxation of income of individuals.
Methodological basis of the study compiled general scientific methods, as well as private scientific methods of cognition (formal-legal, historical-legal, comparative-legal).
Source study base of the study represented by international legal acts, the legislation of the Russian Federation, decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the practice of the Supreme Arbitration Court RF, a number of bills. The study also used certain legal acts of foreign states.
Scientific novelty of the research is that for the first time in Russian science financial law attempted complex analysis the content of the principle of justice in tax law (on the example of personal income tax). The author identified and theoretically substantiated the fundamental aspects of the principle of justice in tax law, as well as identified certain problems in the implementation of the principle of justice in the taxation of income of individuals in the Russian Federation.
The scientific novelty of the work also lies in the following provisions for defense:
1. The principle of fairness in tax law has a complex content and combines several legally defined principles:
a) the principle of universality of taxation;
b) the principle of equality of taxation;
c) the principle of taking into account the actual ability to pay tax;
d) the principle of proportionality of taxation.
2. The principle of universality of taxation, as one of the aspects of the principle of justice, does not have an absolute character and its consistent implementation in the practice of tax collection that meets the requirements of justice is possible only taking into account the property status of a person, expressed, among other things, in the exemption from taxation of the necessary minimum income .
3. The principle of equality in tax law implies differentiation in taxation, but on the basis of accounting economic situation taxpayer. The organization of tax collection on "discriminatory" grounds, i.e. such grounds that are subjective and not related to the taxpayer's property status, is a violation of the principles of equality of taxation and, as a result, injustice.
4. Taking into account the actual ability of the taxpayer to pay tax forms the basis for the implementation of the principle of fairness in tax law and is a necessary condition for fair application the principle of universality and the principle of equality of taxation.
5. Accounting for the actual ability of a taxpayer to pay personal income tax is possible using several methods:
firstly, the establishment of a non-taxable minimum income in the amount necessary to maintain human life;
In administered substantiates the relevance of the dissertation topic; indicates the degree of scientific development of the issues considered in the thesis, and the theoretical basis of the study; the object, subject, goals and objectives of the dissertation research, its methodological basis and source base; the scientific novelty, theoretical and practical significance of the research is indicated; provides information about the approbation of the results of the study.
AT the first chapter "Justice and Law" the content of the concept of "justice" is explored and the development of views, ideas about justice in philosophy and law is traced, and the relationship between justice and law is analyzed.
The first paragraph " Development of ideas about justice in philosophy and law» is devoted to describing the development of ideas about justice in philosophy and law from ancient times to the twentieth century. The paragraph outlines the views on the concept of justice of ancient authors (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, etc.), medieval philosophers (F. Aquinas), thinkers of the 17th - 19th centuries. (G. Grotius, T. Hobbes, J.-J. Rousseau, G. Hegel, I. Kant, F. Engels), modern philosophers (J. Rawls).
As a result of the review of views on the development of the category of justice, the author comes to the conclusion that in each historical era its own idea of justice prevails, due to the socio-economic, political, cultural development of society.
In addition, the dissertation draws attention to the multidimensionality of the concept of "justice". At the same time, it is emphasized that since antiquity there has been an inextricable link between justice and law, and it is the expression in law that is one of the main aspects of justice.
In the second paragraph "The principle of justice in law" the author notes different approaches to the question of the relationship between law and justice, in particular, justice is considered as the essence of law, as a property or quality of law, as a principle of law.
Justice as a principle of law reflects the essence of law and represents the initial position, the beginning, which forms the basis for the formation and development of the entire system of law, branches of law, and individual institutions of law.
In the theory of law, a division of the principles of law into general legal (general, basic), intersectoral and sectoral principles has developed. Justice traditionally refers to the general legal principles of law, that is, it is the idea that is inherent in all law as a whole and in each of its branches of law separately. The principle of justice allows not only to ensure the unity, certainty, and reliability of the legal system, but it also contains guidelines for improving the law.
The principle of justice is reflected in law. Moreover, this principle can be fixed not only in the form of a strictly normative definition. Justice as a principle of law can find its expression in the law through the established correspondence, for example, between a person's act and retribution; through the balance of rights and obligations.
The dissertation also notes that the principle of justice is a criterion, a measure with which they approach the assessment of social relations. In different branches of law, aspects of the expression of the principle of justice may be different.
In the second chapter of the dissertation "The principle of justice in tax law" the content of the principle of justice in tax law is analyzed, and certain aspects of the expression of the principle of justice in tax law are considered. The chapter consists of two paragraphs.
First paragraph "Principles of taxation: concept, classification and meaning" contains a study of the concept of the principles of taxation, as well as various approaches to their classification in the works of foreign and domestic scientists (both lawyers and economists). At the same time, it is noted that initially the scientific development of the principles of taxation was associated with the desire to provide a rational basis for the collection of taxes by the state, to establish guarantees for the protection of the rights of taxpayers and to limit the actions of the authorities to levy taxes with a clear framework.
The first paragraph of the second chapter contains the classifications of taxation principles proposed in the scientific and educational literature, which differ in diversity both in the composition of the distinguished groups of taxation principles and in the choice of criteria for their division into groups. At the same time, according to the author, the basis of the content of modern principles of taxation is " general provisions concerning taxes in general”, formulated by the Scottish scholar Adam Smith as early as the 18th century.
Based on the analysis of scientific approaches to determining the principles of taxation, it is concluded that since the 18th century. and until now, the principle of justice has occupied and occupies a special place in the system of principles of taxation. At the same time, the principle of justice can be considered as a legal principle; as an economic principle that characterizes the tax as economic phenomenon; as a moral (ethical) principle of the tax structure.
The principles of taxation developed by science find their direct expression in law. The paragraph gives a description of the principles legally enshrined in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and analyzes their content, taking into account the legal positions expressed in the acts of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.
At the end of the paragraph, it is concluded that the principles of taxation, being in essence the requirements for taxation and the construction of the tax system of the state, determine the content of individual legal norms, institutions of tax law.
The principles of taxation, finding their expression in law, form the basis for legal regulation tax relations. At the same time, they reflect a certain result of the development of both taxation practice and scientific developments of tax collection rules.
The principles of taxation are a guideline for the legislator when making changes to the legislation on taxes and fees and when adopting new laws. The importance of the principles of taxation is also noted in resolving tax disputes, in particular, in cases of uncertainty and / or inconsistency of the legal norms of tax legislation, as well as in case of revealing gaps in the law.
In the second paragraph "Principle of fairness in tax law" the essence, content and expression of the principle of justice in tax law are analyzed.
At the same time, it is noted that the concept of fairness in taxation is not immutable. With the development of society and the state, its content changes. The paper draws attention to relativity and subjectivity in understanding the principle of justice in the works of various researchers.
In addition, the author notes that the issue of achieving justice in the field of tax relations is inextricably linked with the search for a complex compromise between the interests of the state and the interests of taxpayers. This search touches on various aspects of taxation.
The paragraph provides an overview of approaches to understanding the essence of the principle of justice in taxation in the works of various foreign and domestic scientists (from the 18th century to the present day). Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the historical development of the content of the principle of justice. In this regard, it is noted that since the XVIII century. the principle of fairness in taxation was primarily understood as the achievement of universality and uniformity in taxation and was expressed through the correspondence of the amount of tax levied with the economic capabilities of the taxpayer.
Based on the analysis, it is concluded that despite the differences in the understanding of the principle of justice in taxation in financial and legal science, aspects of the expression of this principle can be distinguished. Such aspects include, in particular, sufficiency, proportionality, universality and equality, mobility and convenience of taxation. It is also noted that the implementation of fair principles in taxation is also considered in connection with the problems of distribution and redistribution of income of taxpayers in society.
The paragraph deals with the problems of normative and legal consolidation of the principle of justice both in the legislation of the Russian Federation and in the legislation foreign countries. At the same time, it is concluded that, unlike the legislation of some foreign countries, the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees does not directly enshrine the principle of justice. At the same time, certain aspects of the expression of the principle of justice find their normative consolidation in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In particular, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes the principles of universality of taxation (clause 1 of article 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), equality of taxation (clause 2 of article 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), accounting for the actual ability to pay tax (clause 1 of article 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), proportionality of taxation (clause 3, article 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Consequently, the principle of justice in tax law, which directly follows from the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, has a complex content and combines several legally defined principles: universality and equality of taxation, accounting for the actual ability to pay tax, proportionality of taxation. The dissertation also notes that the principle of justice can be considered not only as a general principle underlying the legal regulation of the structure of taxes and the tax system as a whole, but also as a special principle that characterizes individual institutions of tax law (for example, the institution of liability for tax offenses ).
The paragraph analyzes the above aspects of the principle of fairness in tax law.
The principle of universality of taxation is expressed in the obligation of everyone to pay legally established taxes.
The dissertation discusses the development of the concept of universality of taxation. At the same time, the author dwells on the problem of the non-taxable minimum income, the paper provides various justifications for the need to establish it. The established non-taxable minimum, to a certain extent, takes into account the property status of the taxpayer, which allows us to speak of the non-taxable minimum income as one of the ways to take into account the actual ability of the taxpayer to pay tax.
The author comes to the conclusion that the principle of universality of taxation, as one of the aspects of the principle of justice, does not have an absolute character, and its consistent implementation in the practice of tax collection, which meets the requirements of justice, is possible only taking into account the property status of a person, expressed, among other things, in the exemption from taxing the required minimum income.
Considering the issue of the principle of equality, the author comes to the following conclusion: the principle of equality in tax law implies a certain differentiation in taxation, but based on the economic situation of the taxpayer. The organization of tax collection on "discriminatory" grounds, i.e. such grounds that are subjective and not related to the property status of the taxpayer, violates the principles of equality and, as a result, does not comply with the principle of justice. The content of the principle of equality of taxation is supplemented by the principle of taking into account the actual ability to pay tax.
Taking into account the actual ability of the taxpayer to pay tax is a necessary condition for ensuring uniformity and fairness in taxation. The dissertation notes that a fair measure in taxation is not expressed in the same amount of tax levied on all taxpayers, but in the payment of such a tax, which is established taking into account the property status of the taxpayer. Thus, taking into account the actual ability to pay tax forms the basis for the implementation of the principle of fairness in tax law.
As part of the consideration of the individual components of the expression of the principle of justice in tax law, the author dwells on the question of the method of taxation. The paper discusses views on proportional and progressive methods of taxation, provides various justifications, in particular progressive taxation. The dissertation notes that although the assessment of progressive taxation is currently not always positive and causes controversy, nevertheless, it can be noted that in financial and legal science, the achievement of justice is more associated with the use of a progressive method of taxation.
The principle of proportionality, as one of the aspects of the principle of justice in tax law, consists in the conformity of taxes and fees established and levied in order to ensure the necessary financing of state expenses, with the possibility of the payers exercising their fundamental rights and freedoms. At the same time, two aspects of the principle of proportionality of taxation are noted. The first aspect is that the realization of fundamental rights and freedoms by citizens should not be made dependent on the payment or non-payment of taxes and fees. The second aspect is that taxation should not be excessively burdensome and, in particular, lead the taxpayer to refuse to conduct a certain type of activity, change the type of activity.
AT the third chapter of the dissertation "Implementation of the principle of fairness in the taxation of personal income" the issues of implementation of various aspects of the principle of justice in relation to the taxation of income of individuals are studied.
The first paragraph "Tax on personal income-fair tax" this chapter contains general characteristics personal income tax in terms of its compliance general requirements the principle of justice. It is noted that the scientific literature emphasized the democratic and fair nature of income tax. The structure of the personal income tax allows you to establish the necessary compliance of the tax with the actual property status of the taxpayer. The ability to determine the taxpayer's income, apply the exemption of the required minimum income, and also take into account other circumstances of the taxpayer's life that affect his ability to pay tax, are provided precisely when this tax is levied.
The paragraph provides a comparative description of income (direct) and indirect taxation in relation to the implementation of various aspects of the principle of justice. At the same time, the author comes to the conclusion that the principles of universality, the principle of taking into account the actual ability to pay tax, are implemented in the taxation of personal income to a greater extent than in indirect taxation. The benefits of income taxation can also include a special function that can be performed by a personal income tax. In particular, if properly organized, a progressive personal income tax can be one of the ways to redistribute income in society, smooth out income inequality between the rich and the poor, and, consequently, a way to maintain social justice in society.
The paragraph also provides a brief historical overview of the development of personal income taxation in Russia.
The second paragraph of the third chapter "Universality, equality and accounting for the actual ability to pay tax in the taxation of income of individuals" is devoted to the analysis of the implementation of these aspects of the principle of fairness in the taxation of income of individuals.
The object of taxation in accordance with Art. 209 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation recognizes income received by taxpayers from sources in the Russian Federation and (or) from sources outside the Russian Federation - for individuals who are tax residents of the Russian Federation; from sources in the Russian Federation - for individuals who are not tax residents of the Russian Federation. Consequently, all individuals without exception, regardless of their citizenship, are required to pay personal income tax if they have the corresponding income, which meets the criteria of universality and equality of taxation.
In order to implement the principle of fairness in the taxation of personal income, the characterization of income as an object of taxation is of great importance. The paragraph considers the following types of income: gross, net and free.
Based on the analysis of the views presented in financial and legal science, the author comes to the conclusion that the amount of gross income cannot be recognized as an absolute indicator of the actual property status of the taxpayer. Thus, such an aspect of the principle of justice as taking into account the actual ability to pay tax, when taxing precisely gross income, cannot always be observed.
In order to implement the principle of fairness, it is necessary to apply deductions from the total (cumulative) amount of a person's income, first of all, the amounts of expenses incurred to generate income, the amount of the non-taxable minimum.
firstly, the establishment of a non-taxable minimum in the amount necessary to maintain human life;
secondly, the use of tax deductions that allow taking into account the actual circumstances of the life of the taxpayer;
third, definitions total income families, application of joint declaration.
The paragraph analyzes these ways of accounting for the actual ability to pay tax, as well as their consolidation in the current legislation. It is concluded that the tax legislation of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of ensuring the implementation of the principle of taking into account the actual ability of the taxpayer to pay tax by granting taxpayers the rights to tax deductions.
Tax deductions, which are a way to determine the actual property status of a taxpayer, primarily include professional tax deductions, enshrined in Art. 221 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The use of professional tax deductions actually allows you to determine the net income of the taxpayer, which is fully consistent with the statutory principle of taking into account the actual ability to pay tax and, accordingly, general principle fairness in tax law.
In relation to the establishment of a non-taxable minimum, the author emphasizes that the fulfillment of the requirements of the principle of justice is not limited to the normative fixing of the taxpayer's right to a non-taxable minimum. The principle of justice implies exemption from taxation minimum income in the amount necessary to maintain human life, i.e. in the amount not lower than the subsistence minimum established in the state. At the same time, the size of the currently fixed standard tax deduction below the national minimum wage. In addition, the author notes that the approach presented in the tax legislation of the Russian Federation to the establishment of a non-taxable minimum does not take into account changes in the subsistence minimum and its unequal size in various subjects of the Russian Federation. In this regard, the author comes to the conclusion that such an aspect of the principle of justice in tax law as fixing in the law a non-taxable minimum in the amount that would provide at least living wage taxpayer, does not find its consistent expression in the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees.
The paragraph also notes that the actual ability principle requires consideration of the taxpayer's marital status. The same amount of income of a person who provides, maintains a family, and a person who does not have such obligations does not indicate their identical property status, therefore, the collection of tax on their income in the same amount will lead to a violation of the principle of justice. At the same time, in the Russian Federation, family status is taken into account by granting the right to tax deductions, in particular, the right to a tax deduction for a child, enshrined in subpara. 4 p. 1 art. 218 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The dissertation draws attention to other ways of accounting for marital status, provided for by the tax legislation of foreign countries, in particular, such as determining the total family income, joint declaration of income.
In the third paragraph "The principle of justice and tax incentives" analyzes the problems of providing tax incentives in terms of compliance with the principle of fairness in tax law.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in its acts directly calls the benefit an exception to the principles of universality and equality of taxation arising from the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Articles 19 and 57), by virtue of which everyone is obliged to pay a legally established tax from the corresponding object of taxation. In this regard, the question of the fair nature of tax incentives sounds particularly relevant.
The paragraph analyzes the goals of providing tax incentives, while emphasizing the following goals: 1) maintaining financial situation taxpayer (social goal); 2) stimulation of the development of certain types of activities (industries). The author agrees with the point of view expressed in the literature that when benefits are provided for a social purpose, their use allows deviating from formal equality in tax law and, in fact, is a certain protection for the poor taxpayer. The tax benefit in this case will be a manifestation of "unequal treatment of unequal people" and act as one of the aspects of the expression of the principle of justice in tax law.
When establishing benefits for incentive purposes, the regulatory function of the tax is realized to a greater extent. For example, the provision of a property tax deduction for new construction or the acquisition in the territory of the Russian Federation of a residential building, apartment, room, land plots or shares in the specified property (subclause 2 clause 1 article 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, the benefit is provided to encourage citizens to improve their living conditions.
According to the author, it is possible to talk about the fairness of stimulating benefits if their provision is conditioned by socially significant goals.
At the same time, the author emphasizes the subjective nature of assessing the fairness of such benefits. As an example, the enshrined in sub. 2 p. 1 art. 219 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the right of a taxpayer-parent to receive a social tax deduction for the education of their children under the age of 24 in full-time education. The purpose of securing this benefit is to ensure the availability of educational services, including paid ones. At the same time, the provision of a tax deduction is made dependent on the full-time education of the child, which can hardly be considered fair in relation to persons studying full-time, part-time or part-time. Consequently, the purpose of granting benefits, i.e. ensuring the realization of the right to education, regardless of the form of education, is not achieved in this case.
The paragraph also draws attention to the unfair nature of tax benefits established without taking into account the taxpayer's property status, for example, only on the basis of the taxpayer's official position
In the fourth paragraph "Determining and assessing the income of individuals for the purposes of fair taxation" considers the problems of assessing and determining taxable income individual, since the consistent implementation of the principles of equality and universality of taxation and, as a consequence, the principle of fairness in the taxation of income of individuals is possible only on the basis of an accurate determination and assessment of the taxable income of an individual.
The paragraph notes that the determination of taxable income is carried out for various purposes, in particular, to take into account a certain type and source of income (for example, funded or unfunded), as well as to establish the exact amount of taxable income of the taxpayer. The implementation of the principles of equality and universality in the taxation of income of individuals is possible only if the amount of income of each taxpayer is accurately determined. Tax evasion by a taxpayer by distorting the true amount of income, hiding taxable income transfers the burden of the tax burden to other taxpayers, which leads to a violation of the principle of justice.
The paragraph analyzes the approaches to income taxation existing in the science and practice of income taxation. The first approach is based on the need to take into account the type of income received by the taxpayer by applying the appropriate tax rate (particular, shedular type of tax), the second approach involves determining the amount of a person’s total income (“global” tax, general income type). At the same time, it is noted that the question of which of these approaches is more consistent with the principle of justice has not been unambiguously resolved, since the literature draws conflicting conclusions about the fairness of tax differentiation depending on the source of income and the unfairness of such differentiation.
The paragraph also analyzes various methods for assessing income in income taxation in a historical aspect, special attention is paid to the analysis of such a method as a declaration.
At the end of the paragraph, it is concluded that the requirements of the principle of justice presuppose the existence of an effective system state control for the correct determination of the amount of taxable income. At the same time, in a democratic state governed by the rule of law, such control cannot be excessive and must have limits that meet the balance of public and private interests.
In the fifth paragraph "Achieving uniformity in the taxation of personal income" the question of which of the methods of taxation - progressive or proportional - provides greater uniformity in income taxation is being considered. In this regard, various approaches and views on this problem existing in the literature are investigated. It is noted that one of the main reasons for refusing to apply the progressive taxation scale in the Russian Federation and choosing a proportional taxation method is the high probability of hiding income and evading personal income tax. Thus, the practice of Russian income taxation of individuals shows that the implementation of the principle of justice depends not only on which method of taxation is chosen and enshrined in tax legislation, but also on the effectiveness of the current system. tax control for paying tax.
Based on the results of the study, the author comes to the conclusion that in the modern Russian state, the issue of returning to progressive taxation of personal income remains relevant and awaits a decision. As the main arguments justifying the need to introduce a progressive scale, we can name, firstly, the regulatory function of a progressive income tax, which in the current conditions of strong property stratification Russian society will reduce the income gap, and, secondly, the experience of a number of foreign countries in which the progressive method of income taxation is applied.
AT imprisonment the results of the dissertation research are summed up and conclusions are drawn.
1. Principles of justice and equality in tax law // Taxes and taxation. 2010. No. 5. (0.4 p. l.).
2. The principle of fairness of taxation and tax benefits // Taxes and taxation. 2010. No. 8. (0.4 p. l.).
3. The principle of justice in tax law: historical and theoretical aspect // Taxes and taxation. 2011. №6. (0.6 p. l.).
Russian encyclopedic dictionary. Book. 2. M., Great Russian Encyclopedia, 2001. S. 1490.
It should be noted that prior to the introduction of amendments to the Federal Law -FZ "On amendments and additions to the first part of the Tax Code Russian Federation» Clause 1, Art. 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation directly provided that when establishing taxes, the actual ability of the taxpayer to pay tax is taken into account based on the principle of fairness.
In 2010, draft Federal Law No. “On Amending Chapter 23 of Part Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation” was submitted to the State Duma of the Russian Federation (date of submission to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on January 12, 2010), draft Federal Law No. “On Amending Article 224 of Part Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation” (date of submission to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on 04.08.2010), Draft Federal Law No. “On Amendments to Chapter 23 of Part Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation” (date of submission to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on 16.09.2010 d.) // URL: http://www. *****.
3. Principles of taxation.
The use of taxes as the main source of state revenue requires the development of certain rules (principles). The need to take into account the actual solvency of the taxpayer, on the one hand, and the collective needs of members of society, for the satisfaction of which the tax is levied, on the other hand, is expressed in the basic principles of taxation.
Principles (from Latin principium - foundation, origin) are fundamental and guiding ideas, leading provisions that determine the beginning of something. Principles of taxation- these are the basic ideas and provisions applied in the tax sphere.
In the taxation system, economic, legal and organizational principles can be distinguished. In addition, within each of these groups of principles, there are general principles of taxation inherent in the entire taxation system as a whole, and private principles of taxation that correspond only to certain sections and provisions of taxation, for example principles of application of liability for violation of tax legislation, principles for calculating and paying income tax, principles for levying taxes on non-residents, principles for local taxation, etc.
Economic principles taxation are essential, basic provisions relating to the feasibility and evaluation of taxes as an economic phenomenon.
The principles of taxation were first formulated in 1776 by Adam Smith in his work An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. They are called the classical principles of taxation.
A. Smith identified five principles of taxation, later called the "Declaration of the Rights of the Payer":
1) principle economic independence and freedom taxpayer, based on the right of private property; as A. Smith believed, all other principles occupy a position subordinate to this principle;
2) principle justice, consisting in the equal obligation of citizens to pay taxes in proportion to their incomes: "... in accordance with their income, which they enjoy under the patronage and protection of the state";
3) principle certainty, from which it follows that the amount, method, time of payment must be known to the taxpayer in advance;
4) principle facilities, according to which the tax is to be levied at such time and in such manner as are the most convenient for the payer;
5) principle savings, according to which the costs of levying a tax should be less than the tax revenues themselves.
The principles proposed by A. Smith have retained their relevance to this day. However, for more than two hundred years of development of society, the system of principles of A. Smith has undergone certain changes. Currently, the following four economic principles of taxation are actually put into practice:
1) the principle of justice;
2) the principle of proportionality;
3) the principle of taking into account the interests of taxpayers;
4) the principle of economy (efficiency).
The principle of justice. According to this principle, everyone is obliged to participate in the financing of state expenditures in proportion to their income and capabilities. There are two main ideas:
1) the amount of taxes levied must be determined depending on the amount of income of the taxpayer;
2) who receives more benefits from the state, he should pay more in taxes (progressive taxation is the methodological basis of the principle of justice).
Fairness in taxation requires the creation of conditions under which taxpayers with more high level income pay large amounts of tax. Justice is presented in vertical and horizontal aspects. Vertical - assumes that the tax is levied in strict accordance with the material capabilities of a particular person and with an increase in income, the tax rate may increase. Horizontal - means applying the same tax rate to persons with the same income, regardless of the type of source of income.
Taxes and fees cannot be discriminatory and applied differently based on social, racial, national, religious and other similar criteria.
It is not allowed to establish differentiated rates of taxes and fees, tax incentives depending on the form of ownership, citizenship of individuals or the place of origin of capital.
Principle of proportionality provides for a balance between the interests of the taxpayer and the state budget.
The principle of proportionality is characterized by the Laffer curve (Arthur Laffer is an American economist, professor at the University of California, Los Angeles), showing the dependence of the tax base on changes in tax rates, as well as the dependence budget revenues from the tax burden. The effect of the curve consists in an increase in budget revenues with an increase in taxes if the rate is up to 50%, and in a drop in revenues if the rate is more than 50%. This concept gained recognition in the 1970s and 1980s. XX century.
The task of the legislator is, on the basis of economically justified proposals, to establish such a taxation regime that would not suppress the economic activity of the taxpayer and at the same time ensure the necessary level of tax revenues to the budget. Thus, taxation as an economic category has its limits, determined in accordance with the principle of proportionality.
The tax limit is a conditional point in taxation, at which the optimal share of the gross domestic product redistributed through the budget system is reached for payers and the state treasury. The shift of the conditional point in one direction or another gives rise to contradictory situations, the manifestations of which are political conflicts, disobedience of taxpayers to the tax authorities, capital flight, massive tax evasion, population migration, etc.
As a rule, the level of the tax cap can be increased only in emergency situations, as was the case, for example, in the USA during World War II, when the tax cap was 80-90%. In the UK after the Second World War, 100% of the excess profits received were withdrawn on terms of repayment. In Russia, the economic difficulties of the transition period at the end of 1993 prompted the introduction in 1994 of two additional targeted taxes (special tax and transport tax), the granting of rights to local authorities to set their own taxes, and an increase in the income tax rate to 38%.
The principle of taking into account the interests of taxpayers is considered through the prism of two principles of A. Smith, namely the principle of certainty (the amount, method and time of payment must be exactly known to the taxpayer) and the principle of convenience (the tax is levied at such a time and in such a way that provide the greatest convenience for the payer).
According to N. I. Turgenev (1789 - 1871): “The amount of tax, the time and manner of payment must be determined, known to the payer and independent of the power of the collectors ... If the farmer needs to submit when his bread has not yet been sold , then he must either give away his bread for next to nothing, or borrow money and pay interest.
A manifestation of this principle is also the simplicity of calculating and paying taxes.
Another manifestation of this principle is the awareness of the taxpayer - the taxpayer must be informed of all changes in tax legislation in advance.
The principle of economy (efficiency) is based on another principle of A. Smith, according to which it is necessary to reduce the costs of tax collection. At its core, the principle of economy (efficiency) means that the amount of fees for a separate tax must exceed the cost of its maintenance, and several times.
Legal principles taxation - these are general and special principles of tax law. These include the following principles:
The principle of neutrality (equal tax burden);
The principle of establishing taxes by laws;
The principle of priority of tax legislation over non-tax legislation, but only in the tax sphere;
The principle of denying the retroactive effect of the tax law;
The principle of the presence of all parts of the tax in the tax legislation;
The principle of combining the interests of the state and subjects of tax relations.
The funds paid in the form of taxes do not have a designated purpose. They go to the budget and are used for the needs of the state. The state does not provide the taxpayer with any equivalent for the funds contributed to the budget. The gratuitousness of tax payments is one of the features that make up their legal characteristics.
In addition, the tax payment scheme must be accessible to the taxpayer, and the object of the tax must be protected from double or triple taxation.
Organizational principles taxation - the provisions on which the construction of the tax system is based and the interaction of its structural elements is carried out. These provisions reflect:
The principle of the unity of the tax system;
The principle of equality of legal statuses of subjects of the Russian Federation and urban entities;
The principle of mobility (elasticity) of taxation;
The principle of stability of the tax system;
The principle of multiple taxes;
The principle of an exhaustive list of regional and local taxes.
A. Smith's principles of taxation are reflected in various financial schools. A conceptually new approach to taxation was put forward by the German economist Adolf Wagner. He proposed nine basic principles of taxation, which he grouped into four groups.
The first group is the financial principles of the organization of taxation. This includes the principle of sufficiency and the principle of elasticity.
The principle of sufficiency means that taxation should be structured in such a way as to ensure sufficient funds for the budget.
The principle of elasticity, or mobility, of taxation means that taxation must be able to adapt to the financial needs of the state. Not all taxes are elastic. The tax system should include such taxes that allow you to quickly increase revenues to the budget in the event of such a need.
The second group is national economic principles. It includes the following two principles: the proper choice of the source of taxation and the correct combination of various taxes, taking into account the consequences of their transfer. Well lectures on audit (3) Abstract >> Accounting and audit
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THE PRINCIPLE OF FAIR TAXATION AS A BASIS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE SOCIAL POLICY OF THE STATE
annotationTHE PRINCIPLE OF JUSTICE TAXATION - AS A BASIS OF SOCIAL POLICY OF THE STATE
Ugryumov Evgenii Sergeevich
Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics
3rd year student of the graduate
Bibliographic link to the article:
Ugryumov E.S. The principle of fairness of taxation - as the basis for the social policy of the state // Politics, state and law. 2014. No. 1 [Electronic resource]..02.2019).
The tax system, in its generalized sense, is a set of taxes, duties and fees levied on the territory of the state in accordance with national legislation, principles, forms and methods for their establishment, modification and cancellation, norms and rules that determine the powers and responsibilities of participants tax legal relations.
The basic principles of taxation were formulated by the great Scottish economist A. Smith back in the 18th century. Today they are known as the classical principles of taxation. Let's highlight some of them:
1. The principle of justice. It is fundamental, but is interpreted differently. The concept of justice in our time is not legally defined, it is a purely abstract value. It depends on the historical stage of the development of society, the level of cultural and spiritual development of the person. Smith formulated the principle of fair taxation as the obligation of everyone to pay taxes based on the real solvency of a person. In our time, there are two points of view on the fairness of taxation:
Taxation is based on the criterion of vertical and horizontal equality, i.e. conditions do not depend on the level of income, wealth and other factors. This assumes the minimization tax rates, and the almost complete abolition of benefits.
Equalization of income taxpayers. It assumes a differentiated system of rates, a flexible system of benefits. In other words, wealthy citizens should pay more than less wealthy segments of the population.
2. The principle of certainty. The content of the principle is that for each taxpayer, the amount and deadline for paying taxes must be clearly defined.
3. The principle of calculation and convenience of tax payment.
4. The principle of saving. Tax collection costs should be kept to a minimum.
In general, the need for a tax system stems from the functional tasks of the state. The government of the country, depending on economic level development, the state of the world economy, the priority tasks set in the development of the country regulates the economic, social and investment climate in the country by means of tools tax policy.
Social policy is a priority direction of modern economic policy RF. It consists in the implementation of the following areas:
1) improving the standard of living of the population;
2) reducing the level of unemployment and meeting the needs of production;
3) support for the real level of income of citizens, inflation control;
4) development of education, healthcare and other social sectors.
Thus, the essence of social policy is to maintain relations both between social groups, strata of society, and within them, to provide conditions for improving the well-being and standard of living of members of society, to create social guarantees for participation in social production.
One of the goals of social policy is to support the optimal ratio between the incomes of the active (employed) part of the population and disabled citizens through the mechanism of taxes and social transfers.
Despite the positive trends in Russia's social policy, when implementing its mechanisms in our country, there is no basic principle for building the economy of modern developed countries - the principle of social justice of taxation, which consists in differentiating tax rates and is implemented through the mechanisms of the tax system.
The progressive taxation of income is applied in many developed and developing countries peace. For example, in the United States, the tax rate reaches 35%, in Germany - up to 45%, and in France, in general, up to 75% on excess incomes of citizens. In Russia, as we know, the main tax rate is 13% and a flat taxation scale is applied.
Currently, according to the Federal Tax Service of Russia, the stratification of the population by income is unusually large. The number of dollar billionaires in Russia is one of the highest in Europe, despite the fact that the country has about 6 million unemployed, and more than 18 million people live on the verge of poverty. According to statistics published in Forbes magazine, the number of billionaires in Russia is growing every year and now has more than 110, and about 35% of the total personal wealth of citizens is in their hands. It is worth noting here that in the United States and in many developed countries the number of billionaires is also large, but they pay taxes at higher rates.
So the introduction of progressive income income is a necessary phenomenon for modern Russian economy in order to implement its social policy. The progressive scale of income taxation is not just a type of taxation, it implies the trust of the population in the government. Such public consent has been reached in many countries, such as Sweden, France, etc. There personal income tax rates very high, but people pay. This is explained by the fact that impressive income tax rates are offset by a high degree of social protection and a high quality of living standards.
It is obvious that the flat income tax scale has ceased to justify itself, and is one of the reasons for the social inequality that has arisen in Russia, and, therefore, hinders the achievement of the main goals of the state's social policy.
Photo by Vsevolod Alshansky, Kublog
To economic principles taxation include the principle of justice, the principle of proportionality of taxation, the principle of maximum consideration of the interests and capabilities of taxpayers, the principle economic efficiency taxation, the principle of profitability of tax measures. The second level is the legal principles of taxation. Consider the principles of taxation that are currently being singled out.
The principles of taxation were first formulated in the 18th century. by the great Scottish researcher of economics and natural law, Adam Smith (1725-1793) in his famous work "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" (1776). Today, these postulates are called the classical principles of taxation. Let's name the most important of them.
It is known that justice is an extremely subtle category, difficult to define. It is not for nothing that this concept, which is common in everyday rhetoric, has not been legally defined. From the point of view of law, "justice" is a pure abstraction; it has no measure, definition, standard. What is true is true in each particular case. Therefore, the understanding of justice depends on the historical stage of development, the economic structure of society, the social and legal status of a person, his political views and passions.
Smith advocated the universality of taxation and the uniform distribution of taxes among citizens "... according to their income, which they enjoy under the patronage and protection of the state." Thus, according to Smith, the fairness of taxation is the equal duty of all to pay taxes, but based on the real solvency of fiscally liable persons.
At the same time, the problem of tax fairness was directly linked to the issues of equality of the tax burden (equality in the withdrawal of part of the income) and the shifting of tax burdens. Indeed, in practice, absolute equality is impossible, primarily due to differences in income and property status of taxpayers.
At the same time, the fairness of taxation in practice acquires one of two extremes. In tax systems with weak advanced mechanisms tax administration (for example, in Russia), taxes are paid mainly by economically weak economic entities. In states with strong tax administration, taxation "punishes" economically efficient enterprises.
2. The principle of certainty of taxation. Smith formulates the content of this principle as follows: “The tax that each individual is obliged to pay must be precisely determined, and not arbitrary. The term of payment, the method of payment, the amount of payment - all this must be clear and definite for the payer and for every other person, "for the uncertainty of taxation is a greater evil than the unevenness of taxation.
3. The principle of convenience of taxation. The meaning of this principle lies in the fact that taxation should be carried out then and in such a way (in that way), when and how it is most convenient for the payer to pay it.
4. The principle of economy. Today, this principle is considered as a purely technical principle of tax construction. It is usually interpreted as follows: the cost of collecting a tax should be minimal compared to the income that this tax brings.
The above classical principles were supplemented by the German economist Adolf Wagner (1835-1917):
1. Financial principles of the organization of taxation:
1. The principle of legality of taxation. This principle general law and is based on the constitutional prohibition of restricting the rights and freedoms of man and citizen otherwise than federal law(part 3 of article 55 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). Taxation is a restriction of property rights, enshrined in Art. 35 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, but the restriction is legal, i.e. based on the law, in a broad sense, is aimed at the implementation of the law (through financing state needs for the implementation by the state and its bodies of the rule of law). The Tax Code of the Russian Federation also indicates that each person must pay only legally established taxes and fees (clause 1, article 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
2. The principle of universality and equality of taxation. The principle of universality of taxation is constitutional and enshrined in Art. 57 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, according to the novel of this article, "everyone is obliged to pay legally established taxes and fees." In addition, Part 2 of Art. 6 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation establishes that every citizen bears equal duties stipulated by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. These provisions of the Constitution are being developed in the tax legislation (clauses 1 and 5 of article 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
In accordance with this principle, each member of society is obliged to participate in the financing of public expenditures of the state and society on an equal basis with others. The universality of taxation lies in the fact that certain tax obligations are established by general rule, for the entire circle of persons corresponding to specific generic requirements (for example, land tax, as a general rule, all owners pay land plots), while taxation is based on uniform principles.
Equality of taxation follows from the constitutional principle of the equality of all citizens before the law (Part 1, Article 19 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). The constitutional provisions of the principle under consideration are developed in par. 1 p. 2 art. 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation: taxes or fees cannot not only be established, but actually levied differently, based on social (belonging or not belonging to a particular class, social group), racial or national (belonging or not belonging to a particular race, nation , nationality, ethnic group), religious and other differences between taxpayers.
In the development of these provisions in par. 2 p. 2 art. 3 of the Tax Code, it is forbidden to establish differentiated rates of taxes and fees, as well as tax incentives depending on the form of ownership (state - federal and subjects of the Russian Federation, municipal, private), citizenship of individuals (citizens of the Russian Federation, citizens foreign states, stateless persons, persons with dual citizenship) or the place of origin of capital.
3. The principle of fair taxation. In the Russian Federation, before the adoption of the first part of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, this principle was originally formulated in clause 5 of the Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated April 4, 1996 No. 9-P: “In order to ensure the regulation of taxation in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the principle of equality requires the actual ability to tax on the basis of the legal principles of fairness and proportionality. The principle of equality in a welfare state in relation to the obligation to pay legally established taxes and fees (Part 2 of Article 6 and Article 57 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) suggests that equality should be achieved through a fair redistribution of income and differentiation of taxes and fees.”
Subsequently, this principle was enshrined in paragraph 1 of Art. 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, however, in a slightly different form (without mentioning the fair distribution of collected taxes): “... When establishing taxes, the ability of the taxpayer to pay tax on the basis of the principle of justice is actually taken into account”, i.e. taxes must be fair. At the same time, as we see, the fairness of taxes and taxation is understood through the prism of the dogma "from each taxpayer according to his capabilities."
4. The principle of publicity of taxation. The publicity of the purpose of levying taxes is justified by the doctrine of financial (Japan, Korea, Burma), tax (USA) and (or) economic (France) law of many foreign countries, directly or indirectly enshrined in the constitutions of many countries of the world. The principle of a public purpose involves the search for a balance of interests of individuals - taxpayers and society as a whole. “Therefore, the state has the right and is obliged to take measures to regulate tax legal relations in order to protect the rights and legitimate interests of not only taxpayers, but also other members of society” (Clause 3 of the Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of December 17, 1996 No. 20-P “On the case of checking the constitutionality of paragraphs 2 and 3 of the first part of Article 11 of the Law of the Russian Federation of June 24, 1993 "On federal bodies Tax Police” // Collection of Legislation of the Russian Federation. 1997. Art. 197.).
5. The principle of establishing taxes and fees in due process. This principle is enshrined and implemented, in particular, through a constitutional ban on establishing taxes otherwise than by law (establishing it in a different manner contradicts Article 57, Part 3, Article 75 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation), and in a number of states - special (more stringent) the procedure for introducing tax bills to parliament. In Russia, such a rule is contained in Part 3 of Art. 104 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
6. The principle of economic justification of taxation. Not only should taxes and fees not be unduly burdensome for taxpayers, but they must also have an economic basis (in other words, they must not be arbitrary). In accordance with paragraph 3 of Art. 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation "Taxes and fees must have an economic basis and cannot be arbitrary."
7. The principle of presumption of interpretation in favor of the taxpayer (payer of fees) of all irremovable doubts, contradictions and ambiguities of legislative acts on taxes and fees. This principle is enshrined in paragraph 7 of Art. 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with this rule, all irremovable doubts, contradictions and ambiguities in acts of legislation on taxes and fees must be interpreted in favor of the taxpayer.
8. The principle of certainty of tax liability. It is enshrined in paragraph 6 of article 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with this principle, legislative acts on taxes and fees should be formulated in such a way that everyone knows exactly what taxes (fees), when and in what order he must pay.
9. The principle of the unity of the economic space of the Russian Federation and the unity of tax policy. This principle is constitutional, enshrined in Part 1 of Art. 8 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, paragraph 3 of Art. 1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and paragraph 4 of Art. 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with the principle under consideration, it is not allowed to establish taxes and fees that violate the single economic space of the Russian Federation, in particular, directly or indirectly restricting the free movement of goods (works, services) or financial resources within the territory of the Russian Federation.
10. The principle of the unity of the system of taxes and fees. The legal significance of the need for the existence of the considered principle of tax law is dictated by the task of unifying tax seizures of property. As stated in par. 4 paragraph 4 of the Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of March 21, 1997 No. 5-P, such unification is necessary to achieve a balance between the right of the subjects of the Federation to establish taxes, on the one hand, and the observance of the fundamental rights of man and citizen, enshrined in Art. 34 and 35 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, ensuring the principle of the unity of the economic space, on the other. Therefore, the list of regional and local taxes enshrined in the tax legislation of the Russian Federation is closed, and therefore exhaustive.
Vera Parygina, Candidate of Sciences in Law, Leading Researcher at VNIIFEK, Head of the Department of Tax Consulting and Protection of Taxpayers' Rights at Yustina Yug
AT fiscal system there are relations regarding the formation and use of state finances:
budget and off-budget funds. It is designed to ensure the effective implementation of the social, economic, defense and other functions of the state. An important “artery” of the financial and budgetary system is taxes.
Taxes arose along with commodity production, the division of society into classes and the emergence of the state, which needed funds for the maintenance of the army, courts, officials and other needs.
“Taxes embody the economically expressed existence of the state”,- stressed K. Marx. In the era of the formation and development of capitalist relations, the importance of taxes began to increase: for the maintenance of the army and navy, ensuring the conquest of new territories- markets for raw materials and sales finished products, the treasury needed additional funds.
Based on the need to fully meet the needs of the state in financial resources the state establishes a set of taxes that must be levied according to uniform rules and on uniform principles. The first such principles were formulated by Adam Smith, who, in his work An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, first formulated the four basic principles of taxation.
The principle of equality and justice:all citizens are obliged to participate in the formation of the finances of the state in proportion to their income and opportunities.
Certainty principle:the tax that everyone must pay must be precisely determined, the time of its payment must be determined, the method and amount of the tax must be clear and known both to the taxpayer himself and to everyone else.
Economy principle:the maximum efficiency of each specific tax should be ensured, expressed in low state costs for collecting taxes and maintaining the tax apparatus. In other words, the administrative costs of managing the tax system and complying with tax laws should be kept to a minimum.
Convenience principle:each tax shall be levied at such time and in such manner as is convenient to the taxpayer. This means the elimination of formalities and the simplification of the act of paying taxes.
Having formulated and scientifically substantiated these principles, Adam Smith laid the foundation (beginning) of the theoretical development of the fundamental foundations of taxation.
The German economist Adolf Wagner expanded the list of previously proposed principles, setting them out in nine basic rules, united in four groups.
Financial principles:
Economics-economic principles:
Ethical principles:
Principles of tax administration:
Thus, the theory of taxation laid the foundation for a system of principles of taxation that combines the interests of both the state and taxpayers.
These principles found practical application only at the beginning of the 20th century, when, after the First World War, tax reforms were ripe in the economies of many countries and began to be implemented. Meanwhile, tax theory is not limited to these classical principles and rules. With the development and improvement of tax systems, financial science has also evolved, refining the old and highlighting new principles of taxation. Developed in the XVIII-XIX centuries. and updated in the 20th century. taking into account the modern realities of economic and financial theory and practice, the principles of taxation are currently formed into a certain system. This system consists of three directions.
First direction- economic principles.
The principle of equality and justice.According to this principle, all legal entities and individuals must take a material part in financing the needs of the state in proportion to the income they receive under the auspices of
and supported by the state. At the same time, equality and justice must be ensured in the vertical and horizontal aspects.
The vertical aspect assumes that:
The horizontal aspect assumes that taxpayers with the same income should pay tax at the same rate.
In the construction of world tax systems, these two aspects, as a rule, are successfully combined, which creates the most favorable conditions for the implementation of this most important principle of taxation. It's believed that progressive taxation more equitable because it provides greater equality among taxpayers.
The principle of efficiency.The essence of this principle lies in the fact that taxes should not interfere with the development of production, while simultaneously contributing to the stabilization policy and the development of the country's economy. An effective tax system should stimulate economic growth, the economic activity of citizens and organizations.
The principle of proportionality of taxes.This principle lies in the ratio of the filling of the budget and the consequences of taxation. When imposing taxes and determining their main elements, the economic implications for both the budget and the perspective development national economy and impact on the economic activities of taxpayers.
The principle of plurality.The plurality of taxes makes it possible to create prerequisites for the state to pursue a flexible tax policy, to take into account the solvency of taxpayers to a greater extent, to equalize the tax burden, to influence consumption and accumulation, etc. The practical application of this principle should be based on a reasonable combination of direct and indirect taxes. To implement this principle, it is necessary to use the whole variety of types of taxes, which allows taking into account both the property status of taxpayers and the income they receive.
The second direction includes the organizational principles of taxation.
The principle of universalization of taxation.Its essence lies in the fact that the establishment of additional taxes, increased or differentiated tax rates depending on the form of ownership, organizational and legal forms of organizations, their industry affiliation, citizenship of an individual should not be allowed, and the same approach to calculating taxes should be ensured, regardless from sources or place of income generation.
The principle of convenience and time of tax collection for the taxpayer.Based on this principle, when introducing any tax, it is necessary to eliminate all formalities: the act of paying the tax should be simplified as much as possible; the tax is paid not by the recipient of income, but by the organization in which he works, tax payment should be timed to the time of receipt of income. According to this principle, consumption taxes are the best when the tax is paid simultaneously with the purchase of goods.
The principle of division of taxes by levels of government.This principle, which is of exceptional importance, especially in a federal state, must be enshrined in law. It establishes that each government body (federal, regional, local) is endowed with specific powers in the field of introducing, abolishing taxes, establishing tax incentives, tax rates and other elements of taxation.
The principle of the unity of the tax system.Based on this principle, it is impossible to establish taxes that violate the unity of the economic space and the tax system of the country. In this regard, taxes that directly or indirectly restrict the free movement within the territory of the country of goods, works and services or financial resources are unacceptable; it is impossible in any other way to restrict the exercise of a not prohibited by law economic activity physical and legal entities or create obstacles in its path.
The principle of publicity.This is a requirement for the official publication of tax laws and regulations affecting the tax obligations of the taxpayer. Based on this principle, the state is obliged to inform the taxpayer about the current taxes and fees, to provide explanations and advice on the procedure for calculating and paying taxes.
The principle of simultaneity.In a normally functioning tax system, the taxation of the same object by several taxes is not allowed. In other words, the same object can be taxed only of one type and only once for a tax period specified by law.
The principle of certainty.Without respect for this principle, a rational and sustainable tax system is impossible. This principle means that tax laws should not be interpreted arbitrarily, and tax laws should be laws of direct action, excluding the need to issue instructions, letters, explanations and other normative acts explaining them. At the same time, the tax system should be flexible and easily adaptable to changing socio-economic conditions; it should be possible to refine it, taking into account changes in the political and economic situation.
third direction- legal principles of taxation.
The principle of the legislative form of establishment.This principle stipulates that the state's tax requirement to pay the tax and the obligation of the taxpayer must follow from the law, which means that taxes cannot be arbitrary. It is impossible to allow the establishment of taxes and fees that prevent citizens from exercising their constitutional rights. But since taxation always means a certain restriction of rights, when establishing taxes, one must take into account the fact that the rights and freedoms of a person and citizen can be limited by law only to the extent necessary to protect the foundations of the constitutional order, morality, health, ensure defense and security of the state.
The principle of priority of tax legislation.Its essence lies in the fact that acts regulating relations in general and not related to taxation issues should not contain rules establishing a special taxation procedure. This means that if non-tax laws contain norms relating to tax relations, then they can only be applied if they comply with the norms contained in tax legislation.
In Russian economic literature, one more principle of taxation is often distinguished, namelyscientific approach to the formation of the tax system.The authors see the essence of this principle in the fact that the size of the tax burden on the taxpayer should allow him to have income after taxes, which ensures normal life. When determining tax rates, it is unacceptable to proceed from the purely momentary interests of replenishing the state treasury to the detriment of the development of the economy and the interests of the taxpayer.
Note that the use of any principle of taxation requires a serious scientific approach and analysis. The application of the entire system of principles or a single principle is not generally accepted in world theory and practice. However, there are principles that are undeniable and are recognized as an axiom. Historically, the underlying principles that must be at the core of any tax system are those developed by Adam Smith and Adolf Wagner.
Some principles, such as multiple taxes, convenience, economy, are quite easy to implement. Absolute adherence to other principles, such as the principles of equality and justice, proportionality, is impossible, but the state should strive to comply with them when building an effective tax system.
