On the issue of fiscal commissions

The subject of this research is the recently emerged form of tax administration in form of fiscal commissions on legalization of the tax base. Currently, taxpayers are summoned to the tax inspectorate by notification to provide clarification on transactions with problem counterparties. The author examines the existing normative framework for conducting such fiscal commissions, and concludes on the lack of legal certainty of such measures. Special attention is given to the typical mistakes of tax authorities in registration of the taxpayer’s summons to the commissions or in holding such commissions. The main conclusions lies in the theses on the lack of legal certainty of fiscal commissions, which requires making amendments to the current tax legislation. Along with the proposal supported by the author to establish the right of tax authorities to send information notice (reasoned opinion) to the taxpayers, the author believes that such form of preventive measures by the tax authority would be maintained in the future, which in turn requires to legislatively establish the actions of the taxpayer in response to the received reasoned proposal, similar to such mutual agreement procedures present in tax monitoring.

Tax incentives to encourage the implementation of digital innovations

Modern conditions dictate new challenges for the economy in order to remedy structural imbalances. The answers to these challenges can only be in the format of innovations. The past six month showed that successful players on any markets became the economic entities that have been actively implementing innovations, namely digital technologies and products. From the economic perspective, tax incentivization has always been the most effective tool for the innovative economic activity. In view of this, the goal of this research lies in substantiation of tax incentives to encourage the implementation of digital innovations. The subject of this article is tax incentives for the implementation of digital innovations. Description is given to the advantages and disadvantages of the existing tax system of stimulating innovative activity in the Russian Federation, examination of tax incentives as the main tool for stimulating innovative activity in the Russian Federation, and formulation of the proposals for improving the legislation on taxes and fees for increasing the efficiency of innovation economy. The key principle of the development of tax mechanism is the selection of effective tax instruments that meet the objectives of the government and economic system. The implementation of digital innovations is much more dynamic due to the comprehensive use of the systems of mechanisms for regulating tax activity. As a result, the author determines the flaws in tax incentives aimed at encouraging the implementation of digital innovations, as well as develops recommendations for improving the methods of tax incentives for the implementation of digital innovations.

Implementation of the principle of payment of land-use on the example of land tax: possibilities and issues

This article examines the relevant problems of land law – one of the most dynamically developing branches of law in the Russian Federation, and one of the first to undergo changes in the context of modernization of vectors of state legal policy. Analysis is conducted on the fundamental importance of the principle of payment of land-use on the example of land tax. The author explores the problems of the object of land tax and tax base, calculation of cadastral value. The conclusion is made that the chosen path of development of the land tax is unfeasible, thereby requiring an alternative solution. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, land is one of the key economic goods. The Russian legislator gives close attention to the commerce in land of various purpose. Land tax is the equivalent of rental charge. Such similarity is interchangeable in judicial practice. There are a number of issues in land tax regulation. The constituent entities of the Russian Federation are currently limited to establishing the exhaustive list of local taxes. The organizations and private entities are not recognized as taxpayers individuals with regards to land plots in uncompensated limited use or under a lease agreement. The post-Soviet states attribute land plots with ownership right as an object of taxation. The legislative and law enforcement practice on land tax in the Russian Federation indicates a close connection between land and civil legislation. For the purpose of replenishment of budgets, the Russian Federation took the path of increasing the tax burden. It is necessary to find the new ways for implementing the principle of payment of land-use in form of land tax, which would effectively address the problems of local financing.

Identification of the areas for improving the Russian legislation on taxation of controlled foreign companies based on the experience of European Union member-states

This article is dedicated to identification and analysis of the gaps in legal regulation of profit taxation of controlled foreign companies (CFC) in the Russian Federation, by comparing the Russian legislation with the legislation of the European Union member-states. Comparison is conducted on the current legislation of the Russian Federation on CFC with analogous rules in France, Germany, Netherlands, and Great Britain. The author determines the similarities and differences in the regimes of profit taxation of controlled foreign companies, and substantiates the need for introducing point amendments to the current legislation of the Russian Federation on profit taxation of controlled foreign companies. The structure of the Russian rules on CFC is largely similar to such in the developed European countries. The definition of the concept of control in the Russian legislation for the most part aligns with the definitions of the analogous concept in the legislation of France, Germany, and Netherlands; although the Russian definition is certainly broader, as it applicable to foreign structures without formation of legal entity, and contains both quantitative and qualitative criteria. Despite formal similarity of the Russian rules on CFC and their foreign equivalents, there are gaps in the Russian legislation, the interpretation of which by the tax authorities and the Ministry of Finance is at times contradictory and often does not benefit the taxpayer. Numerous questions arise from filling out and submitting participation notices and CFC notices, the procedure for which also contains multiple gaps, and the grounds for their submission in the legislation are quite ambiguous. Taxpayers often do not timely notify the tax authority on the participation in CFC or do not submit the corresponding notice due to inaccessibility of software for filling out notices for companies established in particular organizational-legal form.

Review of case law on notification of tax authorities on the controlled foreign companies

This article is dedicated to revelation and analysis of the gaps in legal regulation of profit taxation of controlled foreign companies (CFC) and notification of tax authorities on the controlled foreign companies via examining the available case law. The author determines six types of legal disputes that arise in the context of submission of participation notices in CFC, as well as CFC notices. Analysis is conducted on the methods of elimination of gaps in legislation of the Russian Federation on controlled foreign companies by introduction of point amendments to the current legislation on CFC. Settlement of legal disputes over interpretation of the Paragraph 7.1 of the Article 309.1 and Subparagraph 2 of the Paragraph 1 of the Article 25.13-1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation requires supplementing the Article 25.14 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation with the Paragraph 3.2 of the following content: “The obligation on submitting the CFC notice does not depend on the financial results of CFC. The existence of tax exemption does not relieve of the duty to provide CFC notice”. The disputes often arise when the taxpayers default the submission period, and after receiving a request from the inspectorate, provide data for not only the companies listed in the request, but other companies as well. For avoiding any related disputes, it is recommended to supplement the Paragraph 2 of the Article 25.14 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation with the following content: “A revised notice cannot be submitted with regards to CFC, the information on which was not provided in the initial notice”. In order to minimize the actions of inspectorate “with unacceptable formalism”, it is recommended to supplement the Article 129.6 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation with the Paragraph 3 of the following content: “Submission of incomplete information or information containing technical or orthographic errors, which do not obstruct the identification of foreign company, are not considered a tax crime”.

Foreign experience in income taxation of companies

The subject of this research is the rules of corporate income taxation foreign countries existing in foreign countries, the experience of implementation of which is valuable for further development of the Russian legislation. The current state of tax systems is viewed from the perspective of implementation of the baisc tax functions: fiscal and regulatory. The importance of corporate profit taxation in formation of the income base of the budgets of the budgetary system of the Russian Federation justifies special attention to the existing mechanisms for distinguishing tax revenues between budgets of bot different levels and same level. In the context of state regulation of the economy, analysis is conducted on the tax incentive instruments and preferential tax conditions intended for stimulating innovative activity of the companies. The scientific novelty lies in summarizing the experience of foreign countries in corporate income taxation, determining the leading  practices, and formulating recommendations for their implementation in Russia. The conducted research reveals the trends in reforming tax legislation of the developed countries aimed at stimulation of entrepreneurial activity. Sustained reduction in corporate income tax rates, shift away from progressive scale, and implementation of new tax incentives contribute to lowering of fiscal burden on businesses and create favorable conditions for the economic development. The author develops recommendations for the improvement of corporate profit taxation in the Russian Federation: 1) For increasing the validity of division of tax revenues between regional budgets, it is suggested to change the procedure for calculating the tax payable by separate banks units. In calculation of the share of taxable profit for each bank unit, it is recommended to take into account labor costs, amount of loans issued and deposits raised. 2) The comparative analysis of the Russian and foreign experience of tax incentives demonstrated the shortage of instruments intended for commercialization of innovations in the Russian Federation, which substantiates the need for implementation of preferential taxation of income from use of the objects of intellectual property.

Discharge of obligation by an insolvent taxpayer on recovery of the amount of value-added tax in the context of ensuring public financial and economic interests

This article considers the problem of recovery of the amount of value-added tax by insolvent taxpayers in the context of ensuring public financial and economic interests. Analysis is conducted on the problem of whether taxpayers have obligation to recover the amount of value-added tax in terms of selling property during bankruptcy procedure, taking into account the established law enforcement practice and theoretical views on the topic. The subject of this research is the norms of tax law that regulate the obligation of insolvent taxpayers in recovery of the amount of value-added tax in terms of selling property during bankruptcy procedure. Such obligation of insolvent taxpayers is viewed with consideration of the need to ensure financial and economic interests of creditors of the debtor and public financial and economic interests. The author determines and substantiates the need for comparing fiscal interests with the financial and economic interests of creditors of the debtor, as well as public financial and economic interests in the context of implementation of norms of tax law to the discharge of tax obligations by insolvent taxpayers. It is established that the obligation of insolvent taxpayers to recover the amount of value-added tax significantly affects the financial and economic interests of creditors of the debtor. Based on the acquired results, the author offers to develop the position on the legislative level, according to which the obligation on recovery of the amount of value-added tax does not apply to taxpayers who are declared bankrupt in accordance with the established procedure, or the priority of payment of this tax can be lowered in case of objections of the interested parties.

Assessment of the impact of the tax burden upon workforce productivity

The article examines the impact of such factors as the average monthly salary of employees, investment in fixed assets, tax burden, cost value for research and development, and workforce productivity. For building the model, the author applies statistical data on socioeconomic development indicators of 32 constituent entities of the Russian Federation for 2017. Tax burden lowers the workforce productivity; therefore, the use of tax incentives and preferences contributes to the achievement of the goals of economic growth. The research is based in the general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as econometric analysis. The article is dedicated to the creation of correlation-regression model of impact assessment. The conclusion is drawn that three out of four determinants indicate a significant positive correlation with workforce productivity. The effective tax incentive mechanism may become a catalyst for the economic development and contributes to securing employment.

On the choice of priority approaches towards taxation of the population

The object of this research is the system of taxation of the population, while the subject is the composition and structure of taxes paid by private entities. The author analyzes the two priority approaches towards building the optimal and utmost fair system of taxation of private entities – through the object of “income” or “consumption”. Detailed analysis is conducted on the advanced Russian and foreign research on the topic. The author outlines the advantages and disadvantages of each approach from the perspective of horizontal and vertical justice, individual utility and its discounting. The scientific discussion on the absolute viability of taxation of income and consumption of the population is allocated into a separate chapter of the research. Based on the qualitative theoretical analysis, the author concludes on the rationality of choosing integrated approach towards creation of taxation system of the population. The cornerstone in this regard is the determination of the optimal ratio of consumption and income taxes. For this purpose, the author develops the original methodology based on the scattering matrix of 87 countries of the world, correlation and regression analysis of the indicators of their economic development and tax rates. The scientific novelty of consists in substantiation of the existence of substantial connection between the ratio of taxes on consumption and income of the population and the level of socioeconomic development of the country.

Lowering the scale of “shadow” economy: regional aspects (on the example of the Republic of Dagestan)

The goal of this research is to outline e the vectors for reducing the scale of “shadow” economy, improving control over legalization of the income of small and medium businesses in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and determining tax potential of the regions in separate sectors economic sectors in the current context. The subject of this research is the role and place of legalization of shadow business as the factor of stimulating the economic activity of the regions. The article examines various approaches of the experts towards the concept of “shadow” economy in the modern conditions. Analysis is carried out on the peculiarities of development of “shadow” economy in certain economic sectors (such as construction, wholesale and retail, alcohol production, etc.) in Russian regions (using the example of the Republic of Dagestan). Comparative study is conducted on various indicators in the constituent entities of North Caucasus Federal District and the Russian Federation. Special attention is given to the measures aimed at reduction of the scale of “shadow” economy and improving control over legalization of the income of entrepreneurial activity with regards to increasing tax revenues from small and medium businesses and determining tax potential of the regions. Recommendations are made for reducing the scale of the “shadow” economic sectors, increasing tax revenue from small and medium businesses, determining tax potential of the region in separate economic sectors, stimulating economic activity of small business within the limits of economic security. Based on the acquired results, the author makes  suggestions on legalization of the “shadow sector” in separate branches of the economy, as well as improvement of the effectiveness of measures of interdepartmental cooperation of tax, law enforcement and registering bodies aimed at determination of tax potential of the regions in the current context.