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Taxation of small businesses. Taxes on small businesses: features and innovations Changes in taxes for small businesses

Taxation of small businesses. Taxes on small businesses: features and innovations Changes in taxes for small businesses

Unlike foreign countries, Russia does not have a unified classification of business entities for the purposes of taxation and tax control, statistical observation and international analysis. Russian legislation does not contain a division of firms into micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; in the definition of small businesses according to the Federal Law of July 24, 2007 N 209-FZ “On State Support of Small Businesses in the Russian Federation” there is no qualitative characteristic of the activities of enterprises reflecting their scale. The Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not contain any mention of small businesses. Chapters 26.2 and 26.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, as if introducing special tax regimes for small businesses, define a different circle of persons who do not correspond to the concept of a small business entity according to the Federal Law dated. July 24, 2007 N 209-FZ And finally, statistical observation in the Russian Federation is organized only for small businesses, the maximum number of employees of which is 100 people, which means that when compared with small businesses in the EU or the USA in Russia, a significant group is actually overlooked medium-sized enterprises with a workforce of 100 to 250 (500) people Dyachkina L.A. Analysis of the practice of taxation of small businesses in Russia and abroad "Everything for an accountant", 2007, No. 4.

The literature and the media often discuss the heavy tax burden for small businesses in Russia and their insignificant tax contribution to the consolidated budget of the Russian Federation. The journals “Double Entry”, “Legislation and Economics”, on the websites: www.nta-nn.ru, www.rcsme.ru, etc., estimate that tax payments of small businesses amount to 10 - 15% of the consolidated budget of the Russian Federation, and these data are compared with more than 50% of the tax contribution of small businesses to the budgets of EU countries. But if in the EU the group of analyzed small businesses for which statistical observation is organized includes enterprises with up to 250 people, then in the Russian Federation it is impossible to reliably determine the tax contribution of even small ones (according to Federal Law of July 24, 2007 N 209-FZ) enterprises.

Tax authorities monitor and regularly generate information about participants in the two mentioned special tax regimes. Their tax contribution to the consolidated budget of the Russian Federation is really small, and for the entire period of existence of the special regimes as a whole did not exceed 1.3% or 0.3% of GDP. However, it is not possible to accurately assess the tax contribution of small businesses applying the general regime or paying tax on business income of individuals. Due to the absence of the concept of small business in tax legislation, tax revenues of this category of taxpayers and the main indicators of their activities are not kept in our country, especially since declaring one’s status is a right that does not give anything, and not the obligation of entrepreneurs.

In fact, small businesses in Russia have access to: the classical taxation system (income tax and other taxes), the simplified taxation system in the form of UTII and the income tax of individuals carrying out business activities without forming a legal entity. The state of small business taxation as a whole can be characterized as follows.

Firstly, with the adoption of part two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the emerging trend towards the abolition of any benefits and the transfer of tax legal relations exclusively to the scope of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation was finally consolidated. Secondly, the relationship between the concepts of small business for the purposes of state support and taxation was lost. Before the adoption of Ch. 25, 26.2 and 26.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation Laws of the Russian Federation dated December 27, 1991 N 2116-1 “On the income tax of enterprises and organizations”, dated December 29, 1995 N 222-FZ “On a simplified system of taxation, accounting and reporting for small businesses” and dated 07/31/1998 N 148-FZ "On a single tax on imputed income for certain types of activities" took into account the provisions of Federal Law 06/14/1995 N 88-FZ "On state support of small businesses in the Russian Federation", a single conceptual apparatus was used. Thirdly, the current versions of special tax regimes and Ch. 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation contain many unclear and contradictory provisions that provoke taxpayers to conceal income, develop (including in the media) and use shadow schemes.

At the same time, taxation of entrepreneurship with the adoption of Ch. 26.2 and 26.3 have become more preferential and loyal. Each participant in the simplified taxation system began to pay on average 3 times less taxes, and taxpayers on imputed income - 1.7 times less.

Let us consider in more detail the current taxation systems for small enterprises in the Russian Federation.

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation (TC RF) identifies, in addition to the general, special tax regimes as mechanisms for implementing the fiscal function.

The general taxation regime involves the payment of federal, regional and local taxes by taxpayers. Federal taxes apply in all regions of Russia, and regional taxes only in those where the legislative body has adopted a special law on their introduction, establishing rates, reporting forms and deadlines for paying taxes. Local taxes are enforced by acts of local authorities.

The establishment of special tax regimes in relation to small and medium-sized businesses is dictated by the need to take into account the direction and volume of their activities when taxing.

Special tax regimes have become widespread in a number of neighboring countries, such as Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, etc.

The use of special regimes replaces the payment of several basic taxes, such as income tax, value added tax (VAT), corporate property tax and unified social tax (UST), with the payment of a single tax, the amount of which is calculated in a simplified manner, while other taxes are paid in accordance with the general procedure. The possibility of applying special regimes depends on the taxpayer’s field of activity, the amount of income (Articles 346.2, 346.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) and the organizational and legal form of the business.

When making the final choice regarding one or another organizational and legal form of business, it is necessary to clearly understand both their disadvantages and advantages and the possibility of using them.

Thus, the founder of a limited liability company (LLC) is not liable with his personal property for the debts of the company and is not responsible for violations that were committed in the work (Articles 87-94 Chapter 4 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Compared to joint stock companies of various types, an individual entrepreneur (IP) has a number of advantages Andreev I. M. “Taxation of small businesses” // “On the Log Bulletin”. 2005. No. 1 0:

Simple and quick business registration;

Any amount of authorized capital;

Possibility of registering an individual entrepreneur at the place of residence of the entrepreneur: no need for a bank account;

A simple taxation scheme for individual entrepreneurs and easy accounting without the need for an accountant (Article 22 of the Federal Law dated 08.08.2001 No. 129-FZ as amended by the Federal Law dated 23.12.2003 No. 185-FZ).

In this regard, persons who plan to start a business activity, choosing the organizational and legal form of their business, in most cases choose an LLC or individual entrepreneur.

Depending on various indicators, one of four special modes is selected or several are applied simultaneously.

Taxation system for agricultural producers - a special tax regime for agricultural producers (organizations and individual entrepreneurs producing agricultural products or growing fish, carrying out their primary or subsequent processing) Artelny I. V. “Unified Agricultural Tax: the declaration has changed” / / “Russian Tax Courier” " 2007. No. 13-14.

The system provides for, on a voluntary basis, the replacement of the payment of profit tax, VAT (except for VAT payable when importing goods into the territory of the Russian Federation), property tax and UST.

The simplified taxation system (STS) is one of the most popular systems, since the taxpayer has the opportunity to choose the object of taxation, in addition, he can keep accounting records in a minimal amount, which, of course, is a significant advantage. . Andreev I. M. “Taxation of small businesses” // “On the Log Bulletin”. 2005. No. 1 0.

The object of taxation can be income (taxed at a rate of 6%) or income reduced by the amount of expenses (taxed at a rate of 15%). The choice of taxation object depends on the share of expenses in total revenue and their composition, since not all expenses reduce income for tax purposes.

When switching to the simplified tax system, the taxpayer, depending on the organizational and legal form, is exempt from paying the following taxes:

LLC - income tax, VAT (taking into account the requirement of Chapter 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, which obliges to pay VAT on the cost of goods imported into the territory of the Russian Federation), corporate property tax, unified social tax;

Individual entrepreneur - personal income tax (NDFL) from business activities, VAT (requirement of Chapter 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), property tax (only in relation to property used in the activities of an individual entrepreneur) and unified social tax.

There are strict restrictions established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation on the application of the simplified tax system Tax Code of the Russian Federation (part two) dated 05.08.2000 No. 117-FZ (adopted by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on 19.07.2000) (as amended on 04.12.2007, as amended on 06.12. 2007) (with amendments and additions coming into force from 01/05/2008). .

The following are not eligible to use this system:

Banks, insurers, non-state pension funds, investment funds, professional participants in the securities market, pawnshops and notaries engaged in private practice;

Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs engaged in the gambling business, production of excisable goods, mining of mineral resources (except for those not listed on the state balance sheet and established in subparagraph 1, paragraph 2, article 336 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), who are parties to agreements on the division of property;

Transferred to a single tax on imputed income (UNTI) in accordance with Ch. 26.3 Tax Code of the Russian Federation;

Transferred to Unified Agricultural Tax.

In addition, on the simplified tax system, according to sub. 13 clause 3 art. 346.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, organizations do not have the right to transfer:

Having branches and (or) representative offices on the territory of the Russian Federation (Article 55 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);

In which the share of participation of third parties exceeds 25%;

The list number of employees for the tax period exceeded 100 people;

In which the cost of fixed assets (FPE) Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated March 30, 2001 No. 26n (as amended on November 27, 2006) “On approval of the accounting regulations “Accounting for fixed assets” PBU 6/01” (registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on April 28, 2001 No. 2689). and intangible assets (NA) Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated October 16, 2000 No. 91n (as amended on November 27, 2006) “On approval of the accounting regulations “Accounting for intangible assets” PBU 14/2000”, determined in accordance with the Federal Law “On Accounting” ", exceeds 100.00 million rubles.

The inconvenience of this system includes the ease of loss of the right to use it.

To do this, it is enough to go beyond the annual income limit of 20.00 million rubles. or have a residual value of fixed assets and assets of more than 100.00 million rubles. (clause 4 of article 346.13 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). As a result, there is a possible obligation to pay additional income tax, payment of penalties, restoration of accounting data for the entire period of application of the simplified taxation regime, possible additional submission of tax and accounting reports. Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated March 30, 2001 No. 26n (as amended on November 27, 2006) “On approval of the accounting regulations “Accounting for fixed assets” PBU 6/01” (registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on April 28, 2001 No. 2689). Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated October 16, 2000 No. 91n (as amended on November 27, 2006) “On approval of the accounting regulations “Accounting for intangible assets” PBU 14/2000”

It would be entirely justified to increase the amount of this limit so that a wider range of entrepreneurs could use this system, and taxpayers already using it would not experience the inconvenience associated with the transition to the general taxation regime if the limit is slightly exceeded.

In addition, taxpayers of the simplified tax system must keep track of all changes in tax legislation, since the introduction of a new tax or change in the name of the tax means their automatic inclusion as its payers. The decision to duplicate the accounting of business transactions according to accounting rules or the possible emergence of an obligation to switch to paying UTII for one or some types of activities may entail an increase in the costs of accounting.

Unified tax on imputed income (UTII) Civil Code of the Russian Federation (as amended on December 6, 2007) (as amended on February 1, 2008). -- a special tax regime that is mandatory in accordance with the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation if entrepreneurs and organizations are engaged in the following types of activities:

Provision of household and veterinary services; services for repair, maintenance, washing of vehicles and paid parking lots;

Catering and retail services;

Distribution or placement of outdoor advertising.

There is the possibility of “choosing” UTII for types of activities for which the following restrictions are established: Civil Code of the Russian Federation (as amended on December 6, 2007) (as amended on February 1, 2008).

Retail trade (sales area no more than 150 sq. m);

Provision of catering services (service hall area no more than 150 sq. m);

Providing motor transport services for the transportation of passengers and cargo (no more than 20 vehicles).

Accordingly, having exceeded these restrictions or, conversely, reduced the indicators to the level of restrictions, you can apply either UTII or a general or simplified taxation system.

The tax amount is fixed and does not depend on the amount of income received.

This system is not always economically beneficial for the entrepreneur due to the frequent discrepancy between the actual income received and the actual amount of UTII paid.

The inability to take into account costs when calculating UTII and, as a consequence, a decrease in the ability to expand business, entails the desire of the taxpayer to avoid paying UTII by repurposing its activities and transferring it to regions where UTII is not paid.

It is worth noting that, along with the disadvantages, the tax also has an undeniable advantage - a reduction in the cost of products (works, services) due to the absence of taxes such as VAT and Unified Social Tax, which is especially important for small enterprises.

I would also like to draw attention to the fact that clause 4 of Art. 346.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation gives the right to organizations and individual entrepreneurs to apply the simplified taxation system and the taxation system in the form of UTII at the same time.

The taxation system for the implementation of production sharing agreements is a rather specialized tax regime applied when implementing production sharing agreements (minerals extracted from the subsoil on the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation and (or) within the exclusive economic zone Russian Federation), concluded between the state and the subsoil user in accordance with the Federal Law “On Production Sharing Agreements”.

But, as statistics show, the most popular system among small businesses is the simplified taxation system in the form of a patent for individual entrepreneurs.

The taxation system based on a patent is a modernized type of simplified taxation system.

The essence of this method of paying taxes is to pay a fixed amount for a patent for the type of activity that the entrepreneur is engaged in without involving hired workers in his activities.

The purchase of a patent is carried out for a quarter, six months, 9 months or a year and is paid in two parts: one third of the cost - no later than 25 days after the start of work on the new system, the remaining part - no later than 25 days after the end of the period for which the patent was issued .

The annual cost of a patent is determined as corresponding to the tax rate provided for in paragraph 1 of Art. 346.20 Tax Code of the Russian Federation Tax Code of the Russian Federation (part two) dated 05.08.2000 No. 117-FZ (adopted by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on 19.07.2000) (as amended on 04.12.2007, as amended on 06.12.2007) (as amended and additionally ., coming into force on 01/05/2008). , the percentage established for each type of business activity provided for in paragraph 2 of Art. 346.25.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the annual income potentially received by an individual entrepreneur.

The amount of annual income potentially received by an individual entrepreneur is established by the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for each type of business activity for which the use of a simplified taxation system based on a patent is permitted for individual entrepreneurs.

The advantage of this approach, despite the need to comply with the limit on the amount of annual revenue, is that the list of activities with the possibility of acquiring a patent is so extensive that it covers almost the entire range of interests of small businesses. At the same time, the conditions for working with the purchase of a patent are much simpler than the conditions of the simplified tax system.

Since the possibility of voluntary choice by an organization or individual entrepreneur is provided only for the Unified Agricultural Tax system, the simplified tax system and its modernized version in the form of a patent for individual entrepreneurs, optimization can be associated primarily with these modes.

For example, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation has not yet established what a taxpayer should do if he has lost the right to use the simplified tax system for reasons not specified in paragraph 4 of Art. 346.13, which states: “If, at the end of the reporting (tax) period, the taxpayer’s income exceeded 20 million rubles. and (or) during the reporting (tax) period there was a non-compliance with the requirements established by paragraphs 3 (the paragraph that lists persons who are not entitled to apply the simplified tax system) and 4 (the paragraph on the simultaneous application of the simplified tax system and UTII) of Article 346.12 of this Code, such the taxpayer is considered to have lost the right to apply the simplified taxation system from the beginning of the quarter in which the specified excess and (or) non-compliance with the specified requirements occurred.” Grudtsyna L. Yu., Klimovsky R. V. Taxation of small businesses under the simplified taxation system: legal reference book. M.: "Eksmo", 2006.

For example, in connection with the beginning of the activities specified in paragraph 3 of Art. 346.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in which the subject does not have the right to use the simplified tax system in case of excess numbers, etc.

In this case, it seems appropriate to add Art. 346.13 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, paragraph 8, for example, with the following content: “If the taxpayer has lost the right to use the simplified tax system for reasons not specified in paragraph 4 of Art. 346.13, he is obliged to switch to the regular taxation system from the date of loss of such right. The taxpayer shall submit a notification of the loss of the right to use the simplified tax system to the tax authority by the 15th day of the month following the month in which the loss of the right to use the simplified tax system occurred.”

Particular attention should be paid to the fact that if special tax regimes are used, the taxpayer is no longer a VAT payer. Consequently, its counterparties (buyers or customers), who apply the general tax regime and are VAT payers, cannot reimburse VAT, so the transaction becomes unattractive for them.

It should be noted that real taxpayers do not remain indifferent to the current state of the small business taxation system, and the persistence with which they try to find solutions to some problematic issues in tax legislation is respectable. Amendments to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, proposed by a number of taxpayer groups, are distinguished by high legal literacy and a deep understanding of the problems at the practical level. At the same time, the amendments concern both the creation of a favorable tax regime for small businesses and steps to minimize the damage to the country’s budget system. I would like to hope that actions of this kind will not go unnoticed by legislators and that constructive and justified proposals will find their way onto the pages of the Tax Code.

The need to optimize the taxation system for small businesses is also recognized by legislators. It is quite obvious that further reforms in this area cannot be avoided, since convenience, literacy and simplicity of tax payment is a key point not only in the state fulfilling its fiscal function in full, but also in increasing the motivation for development of small businesses, without which it is impossible to increase the competitiveness of the country as a whole. The current taxation system in the form of a single tax on imputed income is in need of serious reform. The current procedure for determining the tax base does not find uniform approval from taxpayers.

The situation can be corrected by creating the most comfortable conditions for the development of small businesses, which are the main source of tax revenues to local budgets.

It should be noted that the opinion that the introduction of a special procedure for taxation of small enterprises contradicts the principle of neutrality of the tax system is correct. However, in this case, benefits to small enterprises should only compensate them for the objectively smaller opportunities for self-financing, obtaining loans and financing through financial markets caused by both economic and institutional reasons. Based on these considerations, it seems that the use of tax incentives to encourage the development of small businesses is possible, but should be carried out extremely thoughtfully in order to minimize the possibility of tax evasion when using them.

The goal of adapting the tax system for small businesses is not to replace most of the existing taxes with a single tax, but to develop simplified tax payment regimes (including imputed tax) and the criteria according to which an enterprise falls under these regimes. At the same time, enterprises should have the opportunity to choose between traditional, simplified and imputed systems.

Of course, the voluntary nature of applying simplified taxation does not imply the ability to repeatedly change the applied system in a short period of time. You should determine the period during which you should remain in the system that was chosen. Since the reverse transition to full accounting can be carried out not only at the request of the payer, but also as a result of exceeding the criterion for recognizing an enterprise as small, it is inappropriate to simultaneously limit the possibility of switching to full accounting at the choice of the payer. We believe that it makes sense to provide for a limitation on the repeated use of the simplified system within a certain period. Namely, if the taxpayer applied the simplified system and switched to full accounting, then he has the right to re-adopt the simplified form of taxation only after 3 years have passed after returning to generally accepted accounting. And finally, you cannot change the accounting system during the tax period.

In addition, the voluntary application of the procedure provided for small businesses does not exclude the use of imputed minimum taxation for those types of activities in cases where there are sufficient grounds to assume high profitability of the activity in question and, at the same time, significant opportunities for concealing revenue from accounting or unreasonably inflating costs. To establish minimum taxes in this case, it is necessary to carry out empirical research and, on their basis, determine acceptable imputation bases and minimum tax rates, differentiated by type of activity.

The effectiveness of the functioning of the UTII system for certain types of activities should be taken to mean the achievement of the maximum (or the possible desire to achieve it) of the following parameters:

1. Reducing the costs of accounting and tax accounting and reporting

2. Correspondence between imputed and actual income (guided by the principle of neutrality of the tax system) in order to strive for economic efficiency.

To assess these parameters, it is proposed to use appropriate subjective statistics. The source of statistical data can be the results of surveys of enterprises - UTII taxpayers.

As an objective criterion for the effectiveness of the UTII system, it is proposed to consider the following indicators (and their dynamics):

1. The number of enterprises carrying out activities subject to a single tax;

2. Natural and cost estimates of products produced as a result of activities subject to a single tax;

3. The two previous indicators per capita 100 thousand inhabitants (per capita);

4. The volume of tax revenues from the collection of UTII.

5. Share of tax revenues from UTII in municipal budgets.

The effectiveness of the UTII system should be judged by the totality of the listed indicators.

In order to create a transparent, clearly perceived, unified and effective taxation system in the form of UTII, in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Taxes of the Russian Federation, it is necessary:

To clarify the procedure for determining the correction coefficient K2 in connection with the different approaches to establishing its values ​​by the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

Clarify the list of activities subject to UTII taxation;

Determine an exhaustive, clearly perceived and economically justified list of features of doing business, taken into account when determining the K2 coefficient, subject to mandatory accounting, for each type of business activity;

Apply the technique of dividing the coefficient K2 into components (factors). Moreover, each component must correspond to one of the features of doing business and take values ​​from 0.01 to 1;

Introduction of a unified procedure for detailing the types of economic activities, as well as the specifics of conducting such activities.

Currently, active preparations are underway to change the legislation on state support for small businesses. At the same time, we mean the division of small businesses into categories depending on the economic performance indicators - into large, medium and micro small business enterprises. Legislation on state support for small businesses covers the entire contingent of small businesses and concerns approximately 1 million enterprises, which employ about 8 million people.

Actions of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of supporting the development of small businesses will be aimed at solving the following main tasks:

Formation of stable regulatory and legal conditions for the functioning of small businesses;

Creating conditions for investment and lending to small businesses based on the introduction of advanced financial technologies;

Streamlining taxation mechanisms and accounting and reporting procedures for small businesses;

Protection of small businesses from anti-competitive actions of local monopolies, including municipal organizations, in regional markets;

Increasing the efficiency of using budget resources to support small businesses as guarantee schemes for bank lending;

Formation of a market for information, consulting, scientific, technological and training services for small businesses, including those provided by specialized infrastructure facilities to support small businesses using modern technologies.

At the enterprise level, in order to improve the taxation system in the form of UTII, it is necessary to have a competent organization of accounting and tax accounting, continuous monitoring of legislation, and assessment of the tax consequences of transactions not only from the point of view of tax, but also related branches of legislation. These measures will allow you to optimize tax payments without any significant costs and avoid penalties and interest.

That the tax burden on small businesses should remain at the same level for 4 years. However, when company managers calculate the amount of all mandatory contributions, the picture is very different from what the state says, experts explain. The tax rate is not really growing, but officials are finding other ways to get more from entrepreneurs. Let's look at how the real tax burden has grown recently and how it will increase in 2017.

Officials regularly introduce quasi-taxes. Formally, these are not taxes, because they are not in the Tax Code. But in fact, any mandatory payment, for example, can be regarded as a tax, Inc. explained. partner of the law firm Taxadvisor Dmitry Kostalgin. “They are trying to introduce a lot of things - of course, this is uncontrolled growth, even unpredictable,” the lawyer is sure. In addition to quasi-taxes, direct taxes are increased, benefits are eliminated, or more creative methods are used.

Direct tax increase

Since 2017, excise taxes on diesel fuel have increased - from 5.3 thousand to 6.8 thousand rubles per ton. The excise tax on gasoline was also increased, but a little earlier. Since April 1 last year, it has increased by 1 ruble per liter - up to 10,130 rubles per ton. At the beginning of January, people began to complain about rising prices. Governor of the Kemerovo region Aman Tuleyev appealed to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev with a request to stop the rise in gasoline prices in the region. “Since January 1, in the regions of Siberia, the cost of all types of gasoline has increased again - by an average of 20 kopecks per liter. In Kuzbass it is about 34 rubles,” the press service of the regional administration reported. Last week, price increases were also felt in Moscow. For example, Lukoil raised gasoline prices by 20 kopecks, and at gas stations under the BP brand, fuel went up by 10-30 kopecks.

Alcohol and cigarettes will also become more expensive. The specific part of the excise tax on cigarettes rose from 1 thousand 250 rubles to 1 thousand 562 rubles per thousand packs, and the ad valorem part (it is paid by manufacturers on products costing more than 71.7 rubles per pack) - from 12 to 14.5% of the cost, although manufacturers (JTI, BAT Russia, Philip Morris International) asked to keep it at 13%. At the same time, they plan to increase the specific part by 10% every year for three years. During this time, cigarettes will rise in price by about 20%. The excise tax rate on all types of tobacco has increased to 2,520 rubles per kilogram. In addition, excise tax is now imposed on electronic cigarettes (the rate is 40 rubles per piece), liquid for them (10 rubles per 1 ml) and heated tobacco (4,800 rubles per kg).

There was no increase in excise taxes on sparkling and regular wines produced from Russian raw materials. The size remained unchanged - 5 rubles per liter. But the excise tax on imported wine was doubled - to 18 rubles per liter, and on champagne - from 26 to 36 rubles. Excise tax rates on cider, poiré and mead (even Russian) will increase from 9 to 21 rubles per liter until 2019. Excise taxes on alcoholic beverages below 9% rose from 400 to 418 rubles per liter, and above - from 500 to 523 rubles. Experts believe that the changes will have little effect on the price of imported classic wines, but strong alcohol and champagne should rise noticeably in price.

The excise tax on producers of beer and beer drinks with an ethyl alcohol content of 0.5% to 8.6% was 20 rubles per liter in 2016, and 21 rubles in 2017. For stronger beer and beer drinks in 2016 they paid 37 rubles per liter, and in 2017 - 39 rubles per liter.

Interviewees Inc. Experts consider one of the most important innovations to be the limitation of the ability to take losses into account in profits. Now taxable profit can be reduced by losses from previous years by no more than 50%. Previously, companies could deduct all losses from profits and not pay income tax for years. Now, if the losses amount to a billion rubles and the profit is 200 million, you can reduce the profit by losses, but not by more than 100 million. “Because of the restrictions on writing off losses, people essentially have to pay tax on profits that don’t yet exist,” he complains in a conversation with Inc. Head of the analytical service of the law firm Pepelyaev Group Vadim Zaripov.

Since 2017, the maximum trading tax rate for companies organizing retail markets has also increased. Now it is 680.35 rubles per 1 square meter, taking into account the coefficient of 1.237 instead of 634.70 rubles. with a coefficient of 1.154. According to Semyon Yankevich, a senior researcher at the department of financial, tax and budget legislation at the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law, the fee is paid by everyone who is engaged in trade and uses the relevant facilities: shops, pavilions, tents, kiosks, auto shops. So far it has been introduced only in Moscow. “Quarterly rates for trading through stationary retail chain facilities, depending on the area, vary from 21 to 81 thousand rubles,” the expert concluded.


They raise taxes without officially touching them. “Since 2015, the list of property objects for which tax is determined as cadastral value has been expanded. This entails an increase in the tax burden tenfold,” said Inc. Yankevich from the Institute of Legislation. Officials decided to gradually, until 2020, switch from inventory and residual to cadastral value of real estate. In 2015, the tax was calculated as 20% of the payment based on the cadastral value and 80% on the inventory value; in 2016, the proportion was already 40 to 60%.

This year, 9 more regions began paying tax on the cadastral value of real estate; now it is collected in 71 regions of the country (almost everywhere). The rate is set by local authorities, in some regions it has increased with a ceiling of 2%. According to Kostalgin from Taxadvisor, the state often inflates the cadastral value. It can only be challenged in regional commissions and in court. Previously, the tax could be recalculated only in the event of a technical error made by the cadastral registration authority, but now the type of error does not matter.

Benefits audit


There are also changes with movable property. Previously, if it was put into operation after 2013, the owner was exempt from tax - this was a federal modernization benefit. But from 2018 it may disappear. Now the subjects themselves decide whether to leave it or not. And at a time when regions are faced with budget problems, they are unlikely to refuse additional income, says Igor Nikolaev, director of the FBK Institute for Strategic Analysis.

As a tax audit, Zaripov from Pepeliaev Group also cites as an example the gradual abolition of benefits for infrastructure property (for example, gas pipelines and power lines). “This decision was made several years ago. The benefit is being canceled by gradually increasing the rate to 2%,” the expert explained. According to him, benefits will either be canceled or limited. “This is a long-term process, but a start has already been made,” concluded Zaripov.

Quasi-taxes

Quasi-taxes include recycling and environmental fees, fees for the passage of trucks weighing more than 12 tons on federal highways (“Platon”), paid parking, import and export customs duties. Businesses also apply to fees for major repairs of apartment buildings if the office, hostel or store is located in a residential building or the company has an apartment on its balance sheet.


By the summer, Platon's tariffs may double, despite the fact that the Ministry of Economic Development proposed to maintain the preferential tariff until the end of next year. To avoid double taxation, owners of heavy trucks were allowed to reduce transport tax by the amount of payment to the Platon system. The transport tax itself has not changed.

2017 brought a lot of trouble to collectors. The market for collection agencies is expected to be significant due to the law that has come into force regulating their activities. A registration state fee of 100,000 rubles has also appeared, Inc. said. General Director of the Collection Development Center Dmitry Zhdanukhin. Plus, collectors are now required to insure liability to debtors; the insured amount under such a policy must be at least 10 million rubles.

Since last year, developers have been paying additional mandatory contributions. The government ordered the creation of a special fund in order to protect shareholders whose obligations to whom developers do not fulfill. For now, the amount of deductions cannot exceed 1% of the planned cost of building a house.

Quasi-taxes also include insurance premiums, explains Ilya Kucherov, deputy director of the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law. According to him, unlike taxes, insurance premiums are reimbursable. “However, the fact of payment or non-payment of insurance premiums does not affect the right to receive social benefits, since they are guaranteed by the state,” the expert writes. This year, insurance premiums have remained the same: entrepreneurs pay the same amount for their employees as in 2016. However, fixed contributions for individual entrepreneurs have increased due to an increase in the minimum wage - since July it has been 7 thousand 500 rubles instead of 6 thousand 204 rubles. The total amount of contributions from individual entrepreneurs at the end of 2017 will be 27,990 rubles. In the near future, it is possible that non-payers of insurance premiums will be brought to criminal liability; the relevant bill should be considered in the second reading by the State Duma.

Officials offer businesses to pay other quasi-taxes - fees, resort fees in certain regions, contributions from bookmakers and betting to the sports fund, contributions to the Social Insurance Fund against possible bankruptcy of the employer, fees for crossing the state border by cars and freight trains.

Other changes

There is some good news. Most individual entrepreneurs use the simplified taxation system (STS). Starting this year, the general system for small businesses has ceased to be unprofitable - if the income of an individual entrepreneur is less than 2 million rubles per quarter, he is exempt from paying VAT. According to tax law specialist Yankevich, the most profitable system is still the simplified tax system - all taxes in one payment. “This is more profitable both from an economic point of view and the bureaucratic burden on small businesses. Plus, with the VAT exemption there is a little more paperwork,” the expert concluded.

In 2016, it was possible to work on a “simplified” basis if the company’s annual income does not exceed 79 million 740 thousand rubles. The limit was increased to 150 million. In addition, the law now allows entrepreneurs to reduce tax under the simplified tax system and UTII on above-limit insurance premiums (which businesses pay on income above 300,000 rubles).

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Small enterprises do not have large production and sales volumes. Nevertheless, they make a significant contribution to budget revenues. This is due to the quantity in which they are presented on the market. According to the latest data, there are about 5 million private legal entities and 282 companies operating in the country, with a staff of 15-100 people. The most common are trade and service enterprises. Let us next consider the features of taxation of small businesses.

General information

The Small Business Tax Bill provides certain relief for small businesses. This is due to the fact that at the initial stages of their activities it is difficult for such companies and individual entrepreneurs to bear the burden in full due to the small volume of sales and production. As a rule, citizens create an enterprise using their own funds. They risk their money and personal property when entering the market. The Small Business Tax Law takes into account the complexity of development and takes into account the fact that a certain time must pass before the first profit is received. Therefore, certain benefits are provided for such enterprises.

Imputed payment mode

This small business tax system is characterized by simplicity in calculation. This mode is used in cases where the entrepreneur’s income is difficult to control. Its essence is that it is collected from the enterprise in the form of a fixed payment for a specific period. They could be, for example, a year old. Municipal or state authorities, taking into account the average projected income for a certain type of activity, offer to pay the calculated tax in advance. After making the payment, the business entity will be considered the proper payer until the next period. In some cases, imputed taxation of small businesses involves the use of adjustment factors. With their help, the authorities are trying to make payments more adequate and fair. The base rate is multiplied by an increasing or decreasing factor. It will depend on the type of activity, location, client flow, infrastructure and a number of other factors.

Deduction from profit

This is far from new taxation of small businesses. Deduction from income involves a fair division of profits between the entrepreneur and the state at a set rate. Accordingly, the more income an enterprise has, the more it will contribute to the budget. In domestic practice, the rate is set at 13%. It corresponds to that established for the collection of income tax from individuals. Since individual entrepreneurs, acting as business owners, have the right to involve hired workers in the activities of the enterprise, they must also independently calculate and pay the required amounts for them. Individual entrepreneurs can receive professional deductions for the amount of expenses they make. Such costs must be officially supported by documents and relate to the direct extraction of profit. You can count on deductions only after state registration as an individual entrepreneur.

Property tax

It is paid by the owners of buildings, garages, offices, residential buildings, and industrial premises. Rates are determined by local authorities taking into account the market value of objects, the type of their use and other criteria. Simplified taxation of small businesses eliminates the need to deduct amounts from property that is directly involved in business activities if UTII is paid.

VAT

The cost of the product at different stages of the technological and sales process gradually increases. The essence of VAT is that at each such stage certain payments are collected from the entrepreneur. For sole proprietors, this is a relatively new small business tax treatment. It is valid for them from January 1, 2001. Until this point, VAT was imposed only on collective entrepreneurs - enterprises. The VAT amount is included in the final price of the product at which the consumer purchases it. The legislation provides for VAT tax deductions for individual entrepreneurs. The basis document giving such a right is an invoice. Those who pay UTII pay VAT only when importing products into the customs territory of the Russian Federation.

Sales deductions

They constitute indirect taxation of small businesses. The essence of these deductions is that at the conclusion of each purchase and sale transaction, the state charges a certain percentage. Accordingly, the more goods the consumer purchases, the greater the payment amount.

UST

To exercise the right to use the state health and social insurance systems, as well as pensions, the entrepreneur and his employees must contribute certain amounts to the appropriate funds. These payments are included in the mandatory category. This taxation of small businesses involves deductions from various remunerations due to individuals in accordance with civil contracts, in which the subject is the performance of work, provision of services, as well as copyright agreements. An exception is the remuneration due to individual entrepreneurs. Contributions are transferred to the federal budget and extra-budgetary funds. In addition, amounts are withheld from business income minus expenses associated with its receipt. Such entities do not pay tax on the amount sent to the Social Insurance Fund.

Transport

Tax is also paid on it. The corresponding amounts are transferred to the regional budget. At the subject level, the transport tax rate within the Tax Code, the terms and procedure for payment, benefits and grounds for their application, and the reporting form are established. Tariffs are calculated in accordance with engine power and vehicle category.

Earth

It acts as one of the production factors. The state establishes land tax on the principle of direct proportion. That is, the more resources are used, the higher the fee. The payers are individuals who own, use, or possess land. The rate is determined by local authorities.

Any activity of humanity that generates income in the modern world is subject to certain contributions to the state. Small business is no exception. But in all countries, taxation of small businesses has features, the purpose of which is to develop the activities of small enterprises in certain areas by providing conditions and tax rates that differ from the general tax standards for business in the country.

What is a small business?

Before considering the taxation of small and medium-sized businesses, let us clarify which business is considered small. These are individual entrepreneurs, farms and enterprises that meet the following conditions:

  1. Maximum amount of revenue from the sale of goods (excluding VAT):
    • small – up to 400 million rubles.
    • average - up to 1000 million rubles.
  2. Number of employees:
    • small – up to 100 people.
    • average - from 101 to 250 people.
  3. The share of participation of founders-legal entities is no more than 25%.

Tax systems in Russia

In general, taxation regimes in Russia are divided into general and several special. By default, if a newly opened legal entity or individual entrepreneur does not choose a regime independently, having notified the tax office, then the general regime is applied to it. The general tax system for small businesses does not have any special features. The organization will pay all federal taxes:

  • at a profit;
  • personal income tax;
  • unified social tax;
  • excise taxes;
  • water tax, taxes on mineral extraction, for the use of natural resources (fauna and aquatic biological resources).

An individual entrepreneur on OSNO pays the following federal taxes:

  • Personal income tax (13%) for yourself and employees (if any);
  • VAT (the amount depends on the type of product or service, 10% or 18%);
  • insurance premiums for employees (26% of the amount of employees’ salaries);
  • fixed contributions for yourself (in 2013 the amount is 35,664.66 rubles). The same contributions are paid when special regimes are applied.

In addition to federal taxes, there are regional taxes:

  • transport;
  • on property;
  • for the gambling business.

Finally, there are also local taxes on land and property of individuals. A complete list of taxes can be found in Articles 13, 14 and 15 of the Tax Code. Moreover, at OSNO the organization is obliged to maintain tax and accounting records in full accordance with the law. Of course, for a small enterprise, the OSNO tax burden may be unbearable. Therefore, a system of taxation of small businesses is provided, including special regimes that exempt small businesses from certain types of taxes. Let's take a brief look at each of the modes.

simplified tax system

Simplified taxation system. It is allowed to be used only by organizations with income of no more than 20 million rubles per year, number of employees no more than 100, and property value no more than 100 million. This regime replaces VAT, as well as property and profit taxes with a single tax. However, there are exceptions, a list of which can be found in the Tax Code (Articles 174, 224, 284, 346 and some others). Taxes may be applied to total income (6%) or the difference between income and expenses (15%). When switching to the simplified tax system, it is permissible to choose only one option.

UTII

A single tax on imputed income. Previously, the regime was mandatory for certain types of activities (they are specified in paragraph 2 of Article 346.26 of the Tax Code), which were carried out in those regions where UTII was introduced, but since 2013 it has become voluntary. When using it, organizations pay:

  • UTII (tax is not imposed on actual profit, but on potential, that is, imputed income);
  • Personal income tax (from employee wages);
  • contributions to the Social Insurance Fund (from payments to employees).

Unified agricultural tax

Unified agricultural tax. Accordingly, it is applicable only to agricultural producers, and even then not to all. The enterprise must be engaged in production; processing of products does not fall under this regime. In addition, to submit an application to switch to this regime, the share of income received from the sale of self-produced goods over the past year must be more than 70%. The regime provides for the payment of the following taxes:

  • Unified Agricultural Sciences;
  • Personal income tax, pension contributions and contributions to the Social Insurance Fund from employee salaries.

Patent system

Applicable only to individual entrepreneurs. The bottom line is that an entrepreneur acquires a so-called patent for a specific activity (a total of 69 types of activities are permissible, the list of which is indicated in paragraph 2 of Article 346.25.1 of the Tax Code) and for a specific period of time (no more than one calendar year). Having received a patent, the individual entrepreneur pays 6% of potential income. Potentially possible income is established by the tax authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Under this regime, individual entrepreneurs are exempt from property tax, personal income tax and VAT. Moreover, the amount of the patent may be reduced by the amount of insurance premiums, but not more than 50%. Operating the patent system requires strict financial discipline. Invoices, receipts and other documentation must be available and accounted for. It is clear that this is not possible for all individual entrepreneurs. To understand how beneficial the regime is, you should independently calculate your potential income and taxes and compare them with those established by the state.

Unpleasant nuances of special modes

Despite all the benefits provided by special regimes, there are also unpleasant features of taxation of small businesses. For example, VAT exemption creates obstacles in cooperation with large enterprises, which may refuse to work with small businesses due to difficulties with reporting. Or, with regards to the Unified Agricultural Tax, if at the end of the year it turns out that the conditions for applying the Unified Agricultural Tax have been violated, you will have to recalculate taxes in accordance with the OSNO, and even pay a penalty for late payment. In addition, despite the fact that the accounting and reporting process under special regimes is simplified, nevertheless, each regime has its own mandatory requirements that must be studied and observed in order to avoid penalties and other problems

Stumbling blocks in improving Russian taxation of small businesses

Nowadays, small and medium-sized businesses are the basis of the economy. Therefore, the state should encourage this activity. From the outside it seems that this is so. New laws are being adopted to simplify the taxation process, benefits are being created, but in practice the problems of taxation of small businesses remain unresolved. A lot of promising ideas are killed in the bud when the future entrepreneur begins to count how much he will have to give to the state, even before a stable income appears. Taxation of small businesses in Russia in general is developing extremely unevenly and inconsistently. For example, significant benefits are provided for businesses in innovative, scientific and technical fields. But this type of activity is very difficult to start, and therefore it does not affect the overall tax picture. Otherwise we have the following:

  • Inconsistency of tax policy. Constant changes, updates and complications, the reason for their introduction is unclear.
  • The amount of fees and taxes, which many beginners simply cannot afford to pay. For example, income tax for each hired employee.
  • The organization of work of tax institutions and departments leaves much to be desired.
  • Difficulty in maintaining records against the backdrop of constantly changing legislation. A novice entrepreneur is faced with the fact that his knowledge is not enough, and errors in reporting can result in fines. You have to turn to specialists. As a result, it happens that there is no income yet, and the costs of accounting have already become a permanent expense item.
  • Finally, in 2013, the amount of contributions to the Pension Fund doubled, which, as is known, must be made by all registered entrepreneurs, regardless of whether they are active or not.

In other words, if in other countries the tax burden on newcomers to business is reduced, our state today has created conditions in which starting a business without large savings is extremely risky and costly. But, as they say, those who seek will find ways to develop. Finally, we note that this article is a review. When choosing a particular regime, you should carefully study all the conditions, tax rates and contribution amounts. They can vary depending on the number of employees, the size of their wages, the type of activity of the enterprise and many other factors.

Starting from 2018, the authorities plan to increase the single tax on imputed income, which is often applied by small businesses. They decided to index the tax, the growth of which has been frozen for two years, by inflation

Photo: Vladimir Gorovykh / RIA Novosti

The single tax on imputed income will increase by 3.9% in 2018, according to the draft of the Ministry of Economic Development, published on the portal of draft regulatory legal acts. This will happen due to an increase in the corresponding deflator coefficient from 1.798 to 1.868. Inflation at the end of 2017 will be 3.2%, in 2018 - 4%, the Ministry of Economic Development predicts.

An increase in accordance with inflation looks fair, argues Pavel Orlovsky, an expert at the service for entrepreneurs at SKB Kontur. An increase of just 4% “can’t help but please,” he adds.

The UTII regime, which for small businesses is an alternative to almost all taxes, is allowed to be used in several industries, in particular in retail trade, public catering, provision of household services, etc. The tax base is taken as imputed income, which is calculated as the basic profitability of a particular type of activity, multiplied by the number of employees or premises area and two more coefficients (the state “imputes” this income, that is, it does not depend on the actual profitability of a particular business). The first coefficient is the increasing deflator coefficient, which is established by the Ministry of Economic Development. The second is a reduction, it is approved by the leadership of municipalities. The tax rate on this imputed income is 15%.

The imputed income tax is one of the most popular and successful tax regimes for small businesses, notes Sergei Zelenov, deputy chairman of the Supports of Russia committee on taxes. Any increase in it is sensitive, because purchasing power has dropped quite significantly compared to what it was a few years ago, he says. But an increase of 4% is quite acceptable as an alternative to abolishing the UTII regime or reducing the types of activities to which it applies, the expert adds. “I don’t think that such an increase will seriously affect the ability of entrepreneurs to pay this tax,” he states. Replenishments from UTII will be noticeable for local budgets, Zelenov believes.

UTII is credited to the budgets of municipalities. In January-September 2017, according to the Federal Treasury, revenue from this tax amounted to 51.2 billion rubles. 2.03 million legal entities and individual entrepreneurs work under the UTII regime (Federal Tax Service report at the beginning of 2017). Their number is decreasing - a year earlier, UTII was preferred by 2.09 million small enterprises and individual entrepreneurs.

The deflator coefficient for UTII, which previously grew steadily every year, was frozen for the first time when preparing the budget for 2016. Then it was initially 16%, but the decision was revised: the head of the State Duma budget committee, Andrei Makarov, introduced a freezing bill, noting that the planned growth significantly exceeds the inflation forecast. Then the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development agreed with him - the coefficient was at the same level, which made it possible to reduce the burden on business on UTII by 14 billion rubles.

Events developed in a similar way last year. Then the Ministry of Finance proposed to increase the deflator by 5.2%: this would mean that in 2017 small businesses would pay 4 billion rubles to the budget. more, Alexey Ulyukaev, who at that time served as Minister of Economic Development, said in an interview with Reuters: “And no justification. That is, it is proposed that they pay more, but it is not clear whether the payers of this tax will remain in the white sector or go into the shadows?” But Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev nevertheless agreed to leave the UTII at the same level, Ulyukaev explained. Thus, the freeze extended for another year.

To some extent, the growth of UTII will affect micro-businesses, but we should not expect a wave of mass protests from entrepreneurs, says Nikolai Mironov, director of the Center for Economic and Political Reforms. This slow increase is also due to the upcoming presidential elections, he adds: “No one will create points of social tension, including in the business environment.” But after the elections, taxes will rise more, Mironov believes.

The Ministry of Finance did not respond to RBC's request. A representative of the Ministry of Economic Development said that the deflator was calculated in accordance with the Tax Code (it provides for indexation of the coefficient for inflation in the previous year). RBC sent questions to the head of the budget committee, Makarov, but received no response.

Other taxes

The Ministry of Economic Development proposes to change deflator coefficients not only in relation to UTII, but also in relation to other tax regimes for small businesses - trade tax, simplified and patent taxation systems. All of them increase by about 4%, Orlovsky notes. As for the simplified system, the current increase will not affect the income limit at which the use of the simplified system is allowed, he explains. This figure is frozen until 2020, the expert recalls (112.5 million rubles for the nine months of the year preceding the transition to the simplified tax system, for the transition to this regime, and 150 million rubles at the end of the year for existing payers of the simplified tax system).

Growth in the patent system affects the maximum potential patent income that regional authorities can set, Orlovsky says. That is, an increase in the coefficient “does not equal an increase in the cost of a patent,” the regions are just getting such an opportunity, the decision remains with the authorities of the constituent entities, he adds. The situation is similar with the trade tax that applies in federal cities: Moscow, for example, will have to change the relevant law so that the deflator affects the final amount of the fee. However, this is unlikely, Orlovsky believes. Improving the mechanism for imposing trade taxes is one of the main directions of Moscow’s tax policy in the next three years, as stated in the explanatory note to the draft capital budget.

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