One of the components of tax revenues of the budget is the money received from the production and sale of excisable goods. But what is excise duty? And what is its role in pricing? Today's article will give you answers to these important questions for any person who decides to do business.
Excise duty is a type of
indirect tax that is levied on a taxpayer engaged in the production or sale of a certain type of product. Like any other indirect tax, it is levied in the process of consumption of excisable goods, and the buyer may not even know why tobacco products, for example, have risen in price. But let's not delve into the
theory of taxation and consider what excise duty is in practice.
To begin with, it should be noted that in contrast to VAT, excise taxes are set only for certain product categories:
- consumer goods (gasoline);
- luxury goods and branded items;
- goods that are harmful to human health (tobacco products, strong alcoholic drinks).
But what is excise duty and what is its role in the economy? The answer is simple: excise duty is necessary in order to artificially raise the price of a certain category of goods and reduce demand for it. They can not be taxed with basic necessities, as well as other products that are socially significant for most of the country's population.
Excise taxes are historically the first form of indirect taxes, the appearance of which was associated with an increase in government spending. Their advantage lies in the fact that they are very easy to collect, because they are paid already at the production stage. Now that we have answered the question of what is excise duty, let's look at the history of this particular type of tax in the world and in Russia.
The excise tax in its current meaning was known to the Romans, however, it became widespread only in the 11-12th century. In Holland, for example, he levied on goods that were intended for consumption by enemies, i.e. the Spaniards, with whom the Netherlands was at war.
It should be noted that for the first time in Russia it began to be used in the 10-11th century. At that time, only alcohol was declared excisable goods. In 1817, the Charter on drinking collection was adopted, which legally established the amount of vodka and beer subject to taxation. Already in 1838, tobacco also became an excisable product, and in 1848, matches. By the beginning of the 20th century, excise taxes provided half of the country's budget revenues, because at that time they even taxed essential goods (sugar, salt, matches, tea, etc.).
A modern view of excise taxes is set forth in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. According to him, taxpayers are not only entrepreneurs who produce or sell excisable goods, but also move them across the customs border of the country. The tax base is determined separately for each category of goods, and the tax period is one month. As mentioned above, socially significant goods cannot be taxed with this tax, because this can significantly increase their price.