ACTUAL PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF LEGAL REGULATION OF TAXATION OF THE SELF-EMPLOYED
ACTUAL PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF LEGAL REGULATION OF TAXATION OF THE SELF-EMPLOYED
Etera Kurginyan
student, Syzran Branch of Samara State University of Economics,
Russia, Syzran
Olga Dzhaksbayeva
Candidate of Historical Sciences, associate Professor, Syzran Branch of Samara State University of Economics,
Russia, Syzran
ABSTRACT
This article is devoted to the problem of legal regulation of taxation imposed on the self-employed and its further perspective. Research and analysis of the experiment on the introduction of a tax on professional income for self-employed citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as the positive and negative aspects of its implementation. The article considers the main difficulties encountered in defining the concept of self-employment in Russia, and also highlights the relationship between the difficulty of defining the concept itself and the complexity of taxation of the self-employed.
Keywords: self-employment, professional income tax, taxation, legal experiment, tax and tax system, Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation.
Tax revenues are one of the most important ways to replenish the federal, regional and local budgets of the country and, therefore, are the main source of the state's maintenance. The ability of the State to perform its functions depends on the amount of taxes and fees collected. That is why the state's control over the fulfillment of taxpayers' tax obligations to pay taxes and fees is of such great importance.
Currently, there is a tendency to increase the number of citizens who do not work under an employment contract, are not registered as individual entrepreneurs, but receive income from their activities. According to the Federal State Statistics Service for 2019-2020, their number amounted to more than 15 million people [2].
They receive income from their activities, which is not taxed, since taxes are not levied for such citizens by law. This contradiction was one of the reasons for the experimental introduction of a new tax on professional income on the territory of the Russian Federation.
The self-employment tax, or the professional income tax, is a special tax regime [5].
It has been applied since 2019 and will be provisionally valid until the end of 2028. The regime helps to legalize income that does not come from the employer, but directly from the client or from the use of property. This has its positive and negative sides, which we will try to highlight in the course of the study.
"Everyone should be able to earn a living by freely chosen work": this provision, enshrined in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of the European Social Charter, predetermines the rapid development of such a phenomenon as self-employment [1].
In Russia, the number of people who are not responsible for their tax obligations is constantly growing. Based on various data, Rosstat made an assumption that the number of people who work and do business illegally is in the range of 13 to 22 million people. In this case, the state has two problems at once. The first is the impossibility of regulating the activities of these citizens, and the second is the impossibility of receiving tax deductions from their activities. To resolve these issues in 2019, a tax for self-employed citizens was introduced in several subjects of the Russian Federation, which operates in a trial mode.
According to the Federal Tax Service, the most popular activities of the self-employed are passenger transportation, renting apartments, consulting, tutoring, programming, marketing and advertising.
The self-employed can provide services to other persons, rent out premises, sell manufactured goods, with the exception of those that are burdened with excise duty and are subject to mandatory labeling. They should not involve employees in the implementation of their activities, engage in resale, extract and sell minerals.
So why is an experimental tax for the self-employed introduced? Let's try to figure it out. The tax on professional income has many features.
Firstly, it was introduced experimentally on the territory of the Russian Federation, it is assumed that by 2028 the experiment will end, and a decision will be made on the expediency of its introduction on a permanent basis into the tax system of the Russian Federation.
A legal experiment is a test, a test of legal norms, legislative acts or legal regimes in order to obtain legal experience and scientific knowledge about the phenomenon under study. It is necessary to identify both the positive and negative sides of new legislative provisions and assess the possibility of their further introduction on an ongoing basis.
Thus, it is not necessary to say that a new tax on professional income has been introduced into the tax system of the Russian Federation, since this phenomenon is temporary.
Secondly, this tax was introduced only in the Moscow region, in Moscow, the Republic of Tatarstan and in the Kaluga region.
What are the pros and cons of the professional income tax? One of the advantages is the opportunity to work legally, which means there will be no risk of receiving a fine from the tax service for illegal business activities. It should be borne in mind that on the one hand, when legalizing their activities, a person who independently provides himself with work receives protection from legal liability for illegal entrepreneurship, but on the other hand, they do not acquire social security when conducting their professional activities and their own legal status. But, one way or another, it's everyone's choice.
The next advantage is the lack of reporting. Having received the status of self-employed, a citizen legitimizes his activities, and he does not face fines for non-payment of taxes and doing business without registration. In addition, the legalization of their income makes it easier for a citizen to get a loan from a bank or obtain a visa to travel to another country.
And finally, the self-employed are provided with preferential tax rates. The development of the institution of self-employment directly affects indicators such as unemployment and social tension. It is obvious that reducing unemployment is one of the priorities of the state, so support for the institution of self-employment is increasing. It should also be taken into account that with the development of self-employment, both the entrepreneurial and labor potential of the population is growing. In such a situation, tax collections do not come to the fore, but there is an opportunity to regulate and control the activities of self-employed citizens, which would be impossible if they operated within the shadow sector of the economy.
Let's go directly to the cons. The most serious disadvantage is that the self-employed do not have mandatory contributions to the FIU, so points and work experience are not accrued. A self-employed person who has never worked for hire can only count on a social pension.
The second disadvantage is income restrictions. The income of the self-employed should not exceed 2.4 million rubles per year. For those who plan to earn more, this tax regime will not work.
And the third disadvantage is that you can't hire workers. A self-employed person cannot hire employees under an employment contract, all work must be done independently or a contract must be concluded.
Therefore, an important step in the development of the institution of self-employment should be the promotion of various normative legal acts that fix both the characteristics of the self-employed themselves and the specifics of their activities in a particular region. These documents should contain an expanded list of activities that the self-employed are engaged in.
As a result, there is an objective need to consider the issue of amendments to the provisions of Article 219 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation "Social tax deductions" [3]. For example, it is realistic to establish the taxpayer's right to a deduction if a person is engaged in tutoring while working for self-employment.
Thus, the introduction of a tax on professional income is a necessity due to a number of factors. It is assumed that the new tax will contribute to the withdrawal of income from the shadow of persons engaged in illegal activities [4].
The introduction of a tax on professional income should encourage citizens to legalize their activities and support start-up entrepreneurs, since they will have an alternative to registering their status on more loyal terms. Despite a number of advantages that we have identified, the experimental draft law on the introduction of income tax requires popularization and accessible explanation for citizens.
The State should take measures to explain to citizens who informally provide services to others the benefits they receive from registering as a self-employed person and paying professional income tax.
The State should consider the possibility of obtaining a period of self-employment during the entire working life, as this would further encourage citizens to obtain such a status.
Although the share of Russians registered as self-employed is small, the experiment with the introduction of a new tax is a progressive step in the development of tax legislation and in the development of tax control by the state.
Perhaps, with a positive result of the experiment, such a category of self-employed people with small and medium-sized businesses may appear in the country on a permanent basis, and a new tax on professional income will be introduced into the tax system. However, it is still unknown whether this will be promising.
References:
- "European Social Charter (revised)" (adopted in Strasbourg 03.05.1996). URL: https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_120807/
- Methodological provisions on measuring employment in the informal sector. — Text: electronic // Federal State Statistics Service: [official website]. URL: http://rosstat.gov.ru/bgd/free/b99_10/
- The Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Tax Code of the Russian Federation), adopted by Federal Law No. 146-FZ of July 31, 1998. URL: https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_19671/
- Napso M.D. Tax on professional income: on the question of compliance with the principles of taxation / M.D. Napso, M.B. Napso // Journal of Russian Law. – 2020. - № 3. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/nalog-na-professionalnyy-dohod-k-voprosu-o-sootvetstvii-printsipam-nalogooblozheniya /
- Federal Law No. 422-FZ of November 27, 2018 "On conducting an experiment to establish a special tax regime "Tax on professional income" // SPS "ConsultantPlus" -[Electronic resource]. URL: http://www.consultant.ru/