Organization of an effective tax system is a key objective of the fiscal policy of the modern state. The balance in approaches to resolving issues of replenishing the budget through tax collections is expressed in the multidirectional observance of the interests of economic infrastructure entities. This is a necessary condition for the stable development of economic systems. Elimination of the shortcomings and risks of excessive increase of this load is impossible without understanding the economic content of taxes, especially in the context of goals aimed at increasing the investment attractiveness of the country.
Tax in the real sector of the economy
Each socio-economic formation has its own income system, due to production processes, the nature of commodity-money relations, the functions and the very nature of government. In turn, taxation is one of the main ways to increase budget revenues. In most states, taxes are levied to ensure solvency at all levels of government production. And even if we exclude the separation of payment directions within the framework of budget support (at the regional and federal levels), the principles of the distribution of funds may vary. For example, the economic content of the tax is expressed not only in financing the activities of the government and local authorities, but also in the formation of various foundations and organizations, also included in government structures.
Types of taxes
There are several classification features of modern taxation. Basic in this context are financial and economic characteristics, which include:
- The method of withdrawal is indirect and direct.
- Arrangement of the burden of taxation - direct and indirect.
- Method of taxation - tax from a legal or natural person, as well as general taxes.
- The unit of taxation is the estimated and economic tax.
- The tax rate is regressive, progressive, proportional, a multiple of a certain indicator or a solid tax.
- Scope - special and compulsory taxes.
- Focus - concrete and abstract taxes.
- The method of expression is non-cash and cash taxes.
- Source (as a common feature) - tax on expense or income.
Also, the economic content of taxes does not at all preclude their consideration using administrative and legal features. In this case, such principles of separation as the right to use payments, structural and administrative level, method of transfer, etc. will come to the fore. Less significant and rather technological classifications reflect the temporal and spatial characteristics of the application of the tax system, including the frequency, time and place of tax collection.
Types of objects of taxation
Determining the parameters of the tax collection system is impossible without taking into account the specifics of the object of financial burden. The main objects of taxation include:
- Excise taxes. As a rule, groups of goods that fall under the categories of excisable products - for example, alcohol, ethyl alcohol, some types of perfumes and cosmetics, etc.
- Profit-making organizations. Actually, the economic content of income tax is disclosed in the form of income derived from all types of entrepreneurial activity related not only to the sale of goods, but also to the provision of services. The same group includes financial activities that entail the receipt of operating income.
- Natural resources. We are talking about the use of natural resources - for example, it can be work at sawmills, water abstraction, mining, etc.
Tax Functions
In addition to directly filling the budget, the tax system has several more important tasks, which are achieved, among other things, due to the principles of the economic content of taxes. Functions, in particular, may be the following:
- Fiscal. Technologically provides replenishment of financial resources required for the implementation of social, budgetary and other programs, as well as to support the work of public-state institutions.
- Regulatory. The tax can be used as a means of influencing the reproduction process - for example, as a stimulator or a brake in the development of an enterprise due to certain indicators of financial load.
- Control. Income and expenses of taxpayers can be controlled including by monitoring tax payments.
At the heart of each of these functions is still the economic component. The most important effect of the application of the taxation system can be achieved through socially-fair redistribution. For this, the state should have a clear fiscal policy based on certain state priorities. On the whole, the socio-economic function of taxes can be represented as an indirect, but still a way of regulating financial activities.
Tax principles
The organization of the tax system in any form should be guided by a number of principles that allow achieving the solution of the tasks with the greatest effect.
The main principles of this kind include:
- Uniformity - it is assumed universality and equal tension in tax exemption in accordance with the unity of state requirements for taxpayers.
- Certainty - clarity, clarity and unambiguity in determining the fundamental characteristics of the tax system. The main characteristics of the economic content of taxes include rent, profit, wages, etc.
- Non-burdening is the principle of moderate taxation.
- Stability - the stability of various types of tax rates within a specified period of time.
Tax policy
In the fiscal system, politics refers to a set of measures aimed at achieving strategic objectives within the framework of general economic development. In this sense, the economic content of taxes may also reflect the nature of state intervention in the economic sphere. The main tasks of tax policy regulation include providing the government with financial resources, stimulating economic growth, creating favorable conditions for economic activity in the country and smoothing the inequality between different income levels of citizens.
Taxation mechanisms
The practical implementation of tax policy is impossible without a developed mechanism, which is based on legal forms and methods. In Russia, the basic principles for the application of this mechanism are regulated at the level of the federal legislation regarding the economic content of taxes - article 8 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in particular, discloses the concept of tax collection as a mandatory cash contribution. This is the central concept on the basis of which state bodies carry out tax exemptions. However, the aggregate mechanism also provides for the possibility of correcting the collection by introducing benefits, setting tax immunity, changing rates, reducing tax salaries, etc.
Tax management
One of the forms of fiscal activity of the state, the basis for which is legislation. At the basic level of management, a taxation procedure is established in accordance with the purpose of the tax and the economic content of the fee within a certain environment of financial burden. Specifically, the procedures, forms, competencies and organizational methods are established in accordance with which the authorized authorities in this area will act. A set of functions is also defined with a list of tasks that will allow for control to be held accountable for those who violate tax law.
Interaction of tax authorities with taxpayers
Despite the obviousness of the essential process of taxation and the mechanisms of its production, the relationship between conditional collectors and taxpayers can be of a different nature. In particular, several methods of such interaction are distinguished:
- Administrative coercion. It envisages the use of sanctions instruments, seizure of property and financial accounts.
- Adjustable alternatives. The taxpayer is given the opportunity to choose between different forms of paying tax at rates.
- Friendly partnership. A relatively new form in which the economic content of the tax is expressed by the relationship between the authorities and the taxpayer, not at the level of administrative requirements, but on the basis of partnership cooperation, which may take the form of an agreement. What does it mean? This means that due to certain circumstances, the taxpayer can fulfill his obligations to the control authorities on special previously agreed conditions.
Conclusion
The global process of developing tax systems suggests that tax collection mechanisms are being improved, more flexible and efficient. In advanced countries, there is an essential abolition of the concept of collection itself. The financial collection goes into a more complex form of finding the best source for the collection, which fundamentally distinguishes the modern approach to the work of the fiscal system. But, as before, in Russia, the economic content of the tax is expressed by the relationship between government and citizens with a minimum range of freedoms within the strict framework of legal regulation. Even the innovation in the form of taxation with a form of friendly partnership is still reluctantly accepted due to the low level of administration capabilities. Nevertheless, experts note the progressive nature of the development of the taxation sphere of the Russian Federation, indicating the introduction of innovative technologies and the general interest of the government in revising outdated models for the application of legislation in this area.