Organizations doing business in the Russian Federation must pay taxes. The range of such, which is provided for by Russian legislation, is wide. Firms operating in the Russian Federation can operate in different tax regimes and be subject to transfer fees at different rates. What is the specificity of those payments that Russian entrepreneurs are obligated to transfer to the state?
Tax definition
Before considering what taxes companies in the Russian Federation pay, we will consider the essence of the corresponding term. What are the most popular theoretical concepts regarding this issue?
According to many Russian experts, it is legitimate to understand a tax as a mandatory contribution to the state budget or an institution of the budget system provided for by a specific provision of the law and paid by a citizen, organization, or other entity. The tax consists of the following main components:
- object of taxation (such may be a certain asset or income);
- tax base (an indicator reflecting the value expression of the object of taxation);
- rate (percentage of the base, forming the actual amount of contributions to the budget).
Company Definition
Our next task, preceding the consideration of what taxes companies in Russia pay, is to determine the essence of another term that is the subject of our study. Under the "company" is most often understood as a legal entity - an organization registered in the prescribed manner by the state. It can be noted that in Russia this concept can also be associated with the activities of an individual entrepreneur, who, in turn, is an individual. Branches of foreign companies not registered in the Russian Federation also have special status.
In the general case, a "firm" is understood as a legal entity. But if an individual entrepreneur employs a staff of employees and starts a decent-sized production or opens a large office, then, as a rule, he positions himself as a company. Sometimes it is registered in state structures as a legal entity.
It can be noted that the concept of “company” with increasing business scale can be used less and less - instead, terms such as “corporation”, “concern” are used. Thus, a “firm” is a relatively small organization, but with a stable, and at the same time, as a rule, growing business model. In some cases, an entrepreneur who organized the release of goods with the involvement of employees or opened an office and hired specialists.
Now, having examined some key nuances of the terminology, we will study what taxes firms pay in Russia.
Basic taxes for legal entities in Russia
The main payment obligations of legal entities to the budget of the Russian Federation include:
- payment of income tax or its substitute - USN, UTII, PSN;
- transfer of personal income tax for employees;
- making VAT payments to the budget;
- payment of excise taxes and duties.
We study the specifics of the corresponding fees in more detail.
Income tax and its analogues
Companies pay corporate income tax if they work under the general taxation system, or DOS. The rate of the corresponding fee is 20%. This tax is levied on the difference between the revenue and expenses of the organization that are directly related to the implementation of commercial activities.
Correspondingly, they do not pay income tax on companies that operate under alternative taxation systems - STS, UTII, PSN. The specificity of the simplified tax system is the ability to transfer substantially smaller amounts to the budget. So, a company that uses this taxation system must pay the state 6% from revenue or 15% from profit. However, not all firms can work on STS. There are legislatively established limits on revenue and other criteria, upon exceeding which the company should already pay sales tax. Firms operating under the UTII pay the state fixed deductions, determined on the basis of the provisions of federal and regional regulatory legal acts. The amount of revenue does not matter. To work on UTII, the company must conduct the type of activity that is suitable for this tax system. The list of such activities is approved by law. PSN, or the patent system of taxation, is a fairly new phenomenon for the tax system of the Russian Federation. It can be called quite close to UTII, since the taxes of the company under PSN are also fixed. Their size is established in legislative acts at the level of regions of the Russian Federation. It should be noted that only IPs can work within the framework of PSN.
Personal income tax
In general, the owner of the company does not pay personal income tax for himself, as he is not an employee. The corresponding fee is paid for those people who are hired by the entrepreneur. The personal income tax rate is 13%, and this tax is deducted, therefore, from the salary of company employees. The legislation of the Russian Federation provides for a number of deductions for personal income tax. If applied, then the company may not need to transfer the corresponding amounts.
VAT
Another typical business tax is VAT. It refers to indirect. This means that, from a legal point of view, its payer is a company, but in fact the costs of its transfer to the budget are borne by its buyer or client. The fact is that VAT is usually included in the selling price of a product or service.
The VAT rate depends on the specific product that the organization supplies to the market, and may be 10% or 18%. The legislation of the Russian Federation also provides for the application of a zero rate of VAT on certain types of commercial activities.
Excise taxes
Considering what taxes firms pay in the Russian Federation, it is also worth mentioning about excise taxes. Obligations to make appropriate payments to the budget are firms that produce and sell certain categories of goods. As a rule, those that are highly profitable are oil, jewelry, and some types of engineering products. Excise tax payers may be firms that both produce goods that are excisable and import them. The object of taxation under excise taxes is the selling price of a particular product. Rates for this type of tax can vary greatly depending on the specific type of goods. It may be noted that excise taxes also relate to indirect taxes. In fact, for the same reason that VAT is de jure, the payer is the company, de facto the buyer or client, since excise taxes are usually included in the structure of the selling price of the goods.
Taxes and Reporting
Payment of taxes is not the only obligation of a commercial organization to the state related to the transfer of statutory payments to the budget. The fact is that Russian firms must also submit reports to each of the relevant obligations to the competent state authorities. As a rule, this involves a direction to the administrative structure of the declaration. The frequency of formation of such documents is determined by the specifics of the tax. For example, in the case of VAT, the declaration must be submitted by the company to the Federal Tax Service on a quarterly basis. If the company operates according to the simplified tax system, then it is sufficient to transfer the appropriate source to the tax authorities once a year.
It can be noted that firms registered as legal entities must also provide accounting reports to the state. This is formed, in turn, on the basis of information in the framework of accounting, and it reflects financial transactions. Some information from tax reporting may correlate with information recorded in accounting documents.
Responsibility for tax evasion
So, we examined the main taxes paid by the company in the Russian Federation. It would also be useful to study such an aspect as liability for non-payment of fees to the budget provided for by Russian law.
If the company does not pay taxes, then in accordance with applicable legal standards, those bodies that administer a certain fee, for example, the Federal Tax Service, have the right to initiate a procedure for collecting arrears from the organization. Usually, of course, it is preceded by attempts by the Federal Tax Service to interact with the debtor in other ways, for example, by sending notifications that it is desirable to pay off such and such arrears. If the company ignores such appeals from the tax authorities, then the collection procedure is already being initiated. Repayment of tax debts by the Federal Tax Service can be carried out in various ways. So, the legislation of the Russian Federation allows the Federal Tax Service to write off financial resources from the settlement accounts of organizations, as well as to repay debts due to the sale of the property of the company. In some cases, the actions of the Federal Tax Service can be challenged in court.
Companies can find out tax arrears in advance - through the website of the tax service or through personal appeal to the Federal Tax Service. Arrears are recorded by the FTS after the tax period. If the company has delayed making the payments stipulated by law to the budget, then fines and penalties are charged on the amount of the debt.
How to reduce taxes?
How to legally reduce taxes? Firms in the Russian Federation, as we noted above, can operate within the framework of various taxation regimes. In most cases, you can choose the one that will optimally match the specifics of the company's commercial activities in terms of liabilities to the budget.
It is clear that it is very difficult for novice entrepreneurs to transfer 20% of revenue from income tax. But they have the opportunity to work on the simplified tax system and pay less to the budget. However, as soon as their turnover becomes sufficiently large-scale, the state expects more taxes from such firms and therefore requires them to switch to a common taxation system. Regarding VAT - in relation to this tax, firms can use deductions and significantly reduce the overall payment burden.