The tax is a mandatory, individually gratuitous payment levied on organizations and individuals in the form of alienation of funds owned by them on the right of ownership, economic management or operational management for the purpose of financial support of the state and (or) municipalities.
Taxes should be distinguished from fees (duties), the collection of which is not free of charge, but is a condition for the commission of certain actions against their taxpayers.
Signs of tax are:
(1) The subject of the tax shall not have the right to refuse from the obligation to pay a part of his income free of charge, and in case of non-fulfillment of the obligation, the sanctions defined by law for its compulsory withdrawal shall follow.
2. Change of the form of ownership of the income - a part of the income of the subject is gratuitously transferred to the ownership of the state, depersonalized and used by the state at its own discretion.
3. irrevocability and gratuity of the transferred part of the income - the given part of the income will not be returned to the subject of the tax, and he will not receive any rights, including the right to participate in the distribution of the given part of his income.
4. Legitimacy is not only the recognition of taxes on the basis of legislative law, but also their collection only from legal operations.
The functions of taxes are a manifestation of their essence:
1. Fiscal function ("fiscal" - state treasury) - assumes that taxes are the state's income and form the main revenue part of the budgets of different levels. The fiscal function of taxes is fundamental. With the development of market relations its importance increases.
The economic or regulatory function of taxes is the impact of taxes on the socioeconomic relations in the state. It is taxes that influence the solvent demand, supply and resource supply. They create or destroy economic conditions.
It is also worth noting the stimulating function - it is aimed at the development of certain socioeconomic processes, implemented through a system of benefits, exceptions and preferences.
3. Distribution function (or social function) - the function is to redistribute public revenues between different categories of citizens, which provides a guarantee of social stability.
4. Control function - is manifested in the control of financial and economic activities of legal entities and individuals, completeness and timeliness of tax revenues to the budget, areas of expenditure of funds. In addition, this function makes it possible to determine the need for reforming the tax system in a timely manner.
The tax to the budget should be paid either directly by taxpayers or by tax agents.
Taxpayers or tax payers are those who are obliged by law to transfer one or another tax or fee to the budget of the Russian Federation.
A tax agent is the one who by virtue of the law is obliged to calculate the tax for the counterparty, withhold this amount from the money paid to him and transfer it to the budget. Most often the organization acts as a tax agent when calculating personal income tax.
All taxes must be paid in rubles. Sometimes only the state duty when crossing the state border is allowed to pay in foreign currency.
Taxes should be distinguished from fees, the collection of which is not free of charge, but is a condition for certain actions against their taxpayers.
The Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides for several tax regimes that legal entities and individual entrepreneurs are entitled to apply:
1. Standard system or general taxation system
The general regime implies payment by the organization:
-Value added tax,
-Income tax
- property tax of organizations, etc.
Maintaining accounting records, in this case, is considered to be particularly complicated and cumbersome. Obligatory submission of tax reporting, strict requirements to the form and term.
Transition to the regime under consideration is assumed in the absence of special applications from the heads of legal entities from the moment of registration in the register.
Transition to the system is envisaged in case of violation of the requirements for taxpayers applying simplified options. The obligation to work under the OSNO system is established for large industrial companies, extractive industries, etc.
2. Special taxation systems for small businesses:
- Taxation system for agricultural producers;
- Simplified taxation system;
- Taxation system in the form of a single tax on imputed income for certain types of activities;
- patent system of taxation.
Each of the systems has its own requirements and level of complexity. Their application is carried out on a voluntary basis, subject to the deadlines for submission of notifications. Only certain legal entities have the right to use simplified regimes. The requirements are set out in the relevant chapters of the Tax Code.