The basis of any branch of law is certain postulates, which are the core, the fundamental principle of all the requirements of normative acts. The whole system of legislation is built on these dogmas. The principles of tax law are basic rules that contain general rules, which are subsequently specified in separate articles of the Tax Code. Some of them are enshrined in law, some are contained in acts of public authorities or the Constitutional Court. The importance of the principles of law is difficult to overestimate. After all, they are the concentration of the entire content of the law, which is why they are of the utmost importance for the state bodies that carry out power activities. All rules of law are based on the creation of principles. They are the core of the entire tax system. In addition, the principles of law help in situations of detecting gaps in the legislation, with their help an analogy of law is applied. Another feature of them: they reflect the originality and specificity of national legal requirements.
What are the principles of tax law?
In science, there are a lot of options for the definitions of this category. In order to derive the concept of principles of tax law, it is necessary to establish a number of features that are inherent in them. The first is stability. The principles of law, as a rule, are less frequently amended and supplemented than specific legal norms. Secondly, they represent basic, initial principles. Thirdly, the principles of tax law play the role of the pivot of the entire legislative body of this industry and are detailed in separate rules. Fourth, they reflect existing social relations in reality. And fifth, they relate to tax law. If you combine all the signs together, you get a complete definition. Thus, the principles of tax law are fundamental stable rules that determine the content and directions of regulation of public relations arising in this area.
Where to find them?
Separate principles of tax law are defined in Art. 3 Tax Code. However, it contains only the basic principles of the law. But the principles of the legal industry under consideration include not only this aspect. The above article does not provide basic rules for the functioning of tax authorities, as well as the basics of legal awareness of people. It does not take into account the fundamental rules of fiscal control. At a more detailed level, the system of principles of tax law is analyzed in the writings of scientists - in dissertations, articles, textbooks. In Russia, E. M. Ashmarina, D. V. Vinnitsky, A. B. Demin, S. V. Zapolsky, N. I. Khimicheva, A. I. Khudyakov and other representatives of science worked on this problem.
Principles and sources of tax law
These two categories are related as part and whole. The sources of tax law of the Russian Federation have traditionally been attributed primarily to the Constitution. Following it are special legislation in this area, which includes federal acts (Tax Code of the Russian Federation and laws on this industry), regional documents and acts of local authorities. Next are general regulatory texts expressed in the form of laws. Other documents (decrees, decrees, decrees) of public authorities are also referred to sources. Contain tax regulations and decisions of the Constitutional Court, and international law. The principles may be contained in any of these acts.They are not presented as a separate source of tax law due to the fact that they are fixed normatively and, in fact, are an article or paragraph of the above documents.
Rule of law
This postulate is the basis for regulating not only tax relations, but also legal relations of any other branch of law. It means the unquestioning and accurate implementation by all entities, whether it is a state, organization or person, of regulatory requirements. On the one hand, this principle applies to the field of lawmaking. The legislation provides for how taxes and fees may be established. It also explicitly indicates in which regulatory document they should be recorded. On the other hand, legality is a mandatory requirement in the implementation of established rules. This position is dominant among the rest. If any of the principles of tax law is violated, then the rule of law is automatically violated. In order for this rule to be respected, all elements of fees should be clearly and in detail defined in regulatory enactments.
Non-discrimination
This rule is recorded in Art. 3 Tax Code, which indicates the principles of tax law of the Russian Federation. It stipulates that it is unacceptable to increase the amount of tax or to establish a separate fee for persons of a certain gender, social origin, nationality, race, religion, or by any other similar criterion. This principle, like the previous one, is general legal. In addition, the postulate of non-discrimination is embodied on the pages of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The main law of the state enshrines the provision on the equality of all available forms of ownership (part 2 of article 8), as well as on the equal rights of people regardless of citizenship, gender and other characteristics (article 19).
Denial of retroactive law
The principles of tax law and taxation are inseparable from the general requirements presented in regulatory legal acts. So, as a general rule, prescriptions laws are not retroactive. This means that the new legal norm cannot extend its influence to relations that arose before it was adopted. This rule applies in criminal, administrative and other branches of law. In the legal sphere we are considering, recalculation of previously paid tax amounts is not allowed if the rate has changed after settlements. The same applies to other rules enshrined in the Tax Code.
Generality
The basic principles of tax law include the rule of obligation. Universality assumes that each and every person should participate in state financing. Despite the fact that the Constitution provides for this obligation only for individuals, the Tax Code also applies to organizations. The rule of universality does not mean that a person or legal entity must pay to the treasury all of the existing fees, but only those in respect of which it is recognized by the taxpayer. Another requirement of this principle is the prevention of unreasonable benefits to any participants in tax relations.
Stability
Legal principles of the tax law of the Russian Federation, which are fixed in Art. 3 Tax Code do not provide this rule as a base. However, the doctrine of stability is considered as a priority in the development of social relations in this legal sphere. After all, the invariability of the rules that govern tax relations allows us to fully realize the functions of fiscal policy. In addition, it is undesirable to amend legislative acts during a fiscal year.
Single occurrence
This principle implies that a single object of taxation may be taxed or levied on only one type and once for the period established by law. However, compliance with this rule in Russia is in doubt. A controversial issue is the similarity of VAT and sales tax.They are charged from the same facility. The principle of singleness is not enshrined in Art. 3 of the Tax Code, however, is recognized as mandatory in the acts of the Constitutional Court.
Proportionality
This rule includes several requirements, which are enshrined in Art. 3 Tax Code. The first of these is proportionality. Paragraph 1 of this article prescribes to take into account the actual ability of a person or organization to pay them when setting rates and amounts of taxes and fees. The next requirement is validity. So, taxes must necessarily have an economic basis. This rule is contained in paragraph 3 of Art. 3 Tax Code. In the same paragraph, the third requirement is fixed - admissibility. If the established taxes prevent citizens from exercising their constitutional rights, then this criterion is considered violated. This principle does not exist in order to maintain the best financial position of citizens. Proportionality in this case means protecting not the economic interests of taxpayers, but socio-political rights.
Priority tax financial purpose
This principle, unlike the previous one, protects the economic interests of citizens. He enshrines the provision that taxes are established only for fiscal purposes, that is, the state thus receives income. When creating or changing fees, the legislator should not use such models that forced people to a certain behavior. Thus, if a tax obligation makes citizens refuse to engage in any kind of income-generating activity, we can talk about a violation of this principle.
Publicity
This principle affects one of the most important goals of taxation. It is to ensure the solvency of the state, which, in turn, satisfies needs that are identical with social needs. The Russian Federation is a social state. Thus, the principle of publicity means that the tax obligation embodies the interests of all members of the society, and not only the taxpayers themselves. In addition, the principle of publicity means that the right to levy taxes is an exclusive privilege of the state.
