Russian tax system gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to use a variety of payment schemes with the state. There is a general mechanism for calculating fees to the budget, which is characterized by a rather large amount of financial burden on the business. There are various special taxation regimes, the use of which involves a significant reduction in the tax burden on enterprises. Take advantage of the relevant preferences regarding the payment of taxes and duties to the state by entrepreneurs operating in a wide range of industries. Each of them can choose a special taxation system that is best compatible with the specifics of the business model, the amount of revenue, as well as its correlation with costs. What kind of special tax collection regimes does Russian law establish? How to choose the best one from them?
The concept of special tax regime
Special tax regime - a system of collecting taxpayer payments to the budget, which is established in the manner prescribed by the Tax Code and other legal acts. These special modes may provide for the procedure for calculating payment obligations that differs from the standard, and in some cases, exemption of individual payers from them.
The concept of a special tax regime is enshrined in Russian law. The main source of law here is the Tax Code. Russian researchers define the special tax regime as a mechanism for collecting payments to the budget for organizations engaged in entrepreneurial activity, which is considered as an alternative to the general taxation system or DOS. Actually, the corresponding formulations are fixed at the level of the main, as we noted above, source of tax law in Russia - the Tax Code. Thus, the Tax Code says that special regimes can exempt the payer from the obligations stipulated by articles 13-15 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, that is, those that characterize mainly the very same basic taxation.
Special tax regimes apply if you follow the provisions of the Tax Code:
- Unified agricultural tax.
- STS
- UTII.
- Tax for payers implementing production sharing agreements.
- Tax for patent entrepreneurs.
Consider the specifics of these types of taxes in more detail.
Unified agricultural tax
Unified agricultural tax, or a single agricultural tax, is a special tax regime that is established for agricultural entrepreneurs. Also, taxpayers who have the right to use the advantages of the Union are fishery organizations. The special mode under consideration allows payers not to transfer taxes to the budget:
- on the profits of enterprises (not counting the fee that is paid on revenue on dividends or certain types of debt obligations);
- on property of enterprises;
- VAT (not including the fee that is paid at customs when importing goods into the Russian Federation, as well as under simple partnership agreements, or trust management property).
USHN - a tax regime that entrepreneurs can switch to voluntarily. In order to do this, the business must send a notification to the Federal Tax Service - at the place of commercial activity. However, the farmer will be able to start using the preferences guaranteed by this special tax regime only next year.Only new organizations that have just passed state registration can start work on the Unified Economic Tax Administration immediately or have managed to submit a notification to the Federal Tax Service within 30 days after receiving the documents of title.
The conditions for the transition to the Unified Social Tax
Only those businesses that have more than 70% of their total revenue from agricultural activities can take advantage of the UST. Cannot work according to the unified social tax:
- companies producing excisable goods;
- gambling companies;
- state and municipal institutions.
Object of taxation on unified agricultural tax
The object of taxation according to the Unified Agricultural Taxes is business profit, that is, the difference between income and expenses. The rate of unified agricultural tax is 6%. This tax can thus be considered one of the most profitable in the Russian tax system. The base for calculating the tax on the unified social tax can, in addition, be reduced by the amount of losses recorded in the previous year.
STS
Many Russian enterprises prefer to choose a simplified tax regime or tax system. To do this, the business must meet the following criteria:
- the staff should not exceed 100 people;
- business revenue - not more than 60 million rubles per year;
- the residual value of funds should not exceed 100 million rubles;
- if the taxpayer is a legal entity, then the share of ownership of other organizations in it should not exceed 25%.
STS cannot be applied by firms having branches or representative offices.
STS allows businesses not to pay:
- income tax;
- property tax (with the exception of real estate for which the tax base corresponds to their cadastral value);
- VAT.
You can go to the simplified tax system, as in the case of the Unified Customs Union, by sending a notification to the Federal Tax Service in the prescribed form. Similarly, the business will be able to work on the "simplification" only next year. An exception is if the organization is new, and its owners managed to send a notification to the Federal Tax Service within 30 days after state registration. It should also be noted that when switching to the STS with UTII, work on "simplification" is possible from the month when the organization stopped working on UTII.
Types of USN
STS is a taxation system that can be used by an entrepreneur in terms of settlements with the budget in two ways. Firstly, a business can pay the government 6% of revenue. Secondly, there is an option with the transfer to the budget of 15% of net profit.
The choice of one of the two marked schemes depends on the entrepreneur himself. It is advisable for businesses that do not have large expenses to use the simplified tax system, according to which the government pays 6% of revenue. This can be, for example, consulting organizations, as well as any others that specialize in the provision of services. In turn, industrial businesses, construction companies, and trade organizations are likely to have lower profitability due to high costs. Therefore, it will be more profitable for them to work according to the simplified tax system, giving the budget 15% of the profits. Moreover, the regions of the Russian Federation can establish preferential tax regimes under the simplified tax system for the corresponding scheme, according to which the rate can be reduced to 5%.
UTII
Another popular taxation system that is an alternative to DOS is the single tax on imputed income. Its main advantage is that the entrepreneur pays the state a fixed amount of tax, the amount of revenue and profit do not matter. At the same time, the general tax regime, the simplified tax system and the unified taxation tax provide for the transfer to the budget of amounts proportional to the growth of the entrepreneur's income.
UTII can be used not by all businesses, but only those that operate:
- in the retail segment,
- in the field of catering,
- in the field of veterinary services,
- in the field of domestic services,
- in the field of the provision of repair, maintenance, and car wash services,
- in the field of distribution or advertising,
- in the field of services for the rental of retail outlets, land,
- in the field of hotel business (with some restrictions),
- in the field of transport services,
- in the field of provision for use of paid parking.
Actually, the noted segments of entrepreneurial activities are perfectly compatible with the specifics of UTII. They allow the company to generate large revenue, the value of which in this case does not matter - as a result, the payment burden on the business is optimized.
The transition to UTII
For a long time, an entrepreneur operating in any of the above segments was obliged to work on UTII by default. But since 2013, businesses that conduct commercial activities in relevant areas have been given the opportunity to voluntarily switch to UTII - like those that have involved the other special tax regimes we have examined. The Tax Code of the Russian Federation in a new edition was released, thus, with the necessary amendments.
In order to legalize activities using UTII, an entrepreneur engaged in relevant activities must send a notification to the Federal Tax Service in the prescribed form.
Accounting and reporting at UTII
UTII - among those taxes that determine the need for businesses to keep fairly detailed records, as well as provide reporting to the Federal Tax Service. So, single tax payers should record indicators regarding fees, which are calculated due to the fact that the company has a tax agent status, as well as other payments stipulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation. UTII payer is required to comply with the established procedure for cash transactions. Another obligation established for payers is the provision of financial statements to the Federal Tax Service. SP are relieved of the fulfillment of this obligation.
UTII calculation
In some cases, the features of special tax regimes in terms of calculating the amount of payments to the budget deserve special attention. So, if in the case of the STS and the USCH the principle of determining the amount of tax to be transferred to the state is quite transparent, then with the UTII a much more complicated formula is used. Consider its features.
Calculation of UTII is carried out by multiplying the tax base by the rate determined for the corresponding tax. The second parameter is fixed, it is 15%. In turn, the tax base for UTII is calculated on the basis of several indicators.
Firstly, this is the basic profitability. This indicator is determined at the level of federal legislation and depends on the segment in which the entrepreneur operates.
Secondly, it is a physical indicator. It is almost always used simultaneously with the basic profitability and reflects the amount of resources used by the business (for example, the area of the premises, the number of trading places), or the number of employees working at the corresponding facility.
Thirdly, coefficients are used in the structure of the UTII calculus. The first of these is the deflator; it is installed at the federal level. The second is corrective, determined by the provisions of municipal legal acts. Its value depends on a large number of factors - seasonality, business geography, type of entrepreneur activity. It turns out that in different regions the value of UTII, which must be paid to the budget, can vary several times for businesses that have the same revenue and infrastructure characteristics. Those types of taxes that we have considered above - the Unified Social and Industrial Taxes, the simplified tax system - do not suggest such a feature. If revenue and production characteristics different companies - then the fees payable to the budget will be proportionally different.
Special tax regimes include, as follows from the provisions of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the patent system of taxation, as well as fees that are paid by enterprises participating in production sharing agreements. Consider their specifics in more detail.
Patent Tax System
The main tax regimes related to the category of special ones - USN, Unified Social Tax Administration, and UTII - relatively recently, in 2012, were supplemented by a patent system for calculating taxes to the budget. Payers of the corresponding tax may be individual entrepreneurs. Preferences of this taxation system can be used by individual entrepreneurs who work independently, or form a staff of employees not exceeding 15 people.
The patent system for calculating fees to the budget exempts the entrepreneur from paying:
- Personal income tax;
- tax on property of individuals (for those objects that are involved in commercial activities);
- VAT.
It is noteworthy that, together with the patent system, an entrepreneur can apply any other types of taxes. Calculation of payments to the budget for certain commercial activities, he can carry out, thus, based on the greatest benefits. The main thing is to keep a correct record of the relevant business operations. Entrepreneurs working in a wide range of industries can work within the framework of the patent system. Among those:
- repair and tailoring of clothes, shoes;
- hairdressing services;
- organization of the work of beauty salons;
- the provision of services in dry cleaners, laundries;
- manufacture and repair of haberdashery;
- issue of license plates, street signs;
- repair and maintenance of household appliances;
- furniture repair;
- photo studio services;
- car repair and maintenance;
- the provision of transport services;
- renovation of apartments;
- assembly, welding works;
- glazing of balconies;
- provision of tutoring services;
- caring for children and citizens in need of assistance;
- organization of reception of secondary raw materials;
- veterinary services;
- rental housing;
- land plots;
- the manufacture of products related to samples of folk and artistic crafts;
- processing vegetables and other agricultural products;
- manufacturing and repair of inventory;
- agricultural services;
- printing, binding services;
- jewelry repair, catering (with some restrictions);
- retail (with some restrictions).
Tax treatment for enterprises participating in the production sharing
The characterization of special tax regimes in some cases may involve close interaction between business and the state. Such communications are regulated by the provisions of Federal Law No. 225, adopted on December 30, 1995, which governs the agreements, the subject of which is the division of products that are produced with the joint participation of business and government in the field of mining.
The corresponding contract is concluded between the state and the company, which is involved in the project on a competitive basis. The state’s share in business should be 25% or more. The company party to the agreement, in turn, receives the right to compensation for certain expenses in accordance with the criteria that include the Tax Code. The main motivation of the state here is the possibility of attracting private investors to the development of deposits with difficult access. The taxpayer gets the opportunity not to transfer to the budget:
- regional and local taxes - if the necessary decision of the municipality;
- property tax of enterprises involved in the implementation of the production sharing agreement;
- customs duties;
- transport tax if the relevant property is used in the implementation of the agreement.
In turn, businesses participating in the activities in question must pay the fees stipulated by the provisions of paragraph 7 of Article 346.35 of the Tax Code.
So, we examined those types of special tax regimes that were put into effect by the provisions of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.Russian entrepreneurs operating in various fields can choose the optimal taxation scheme - often much more profitable than DOS.
The use of special tax regimes is an opportunity extremely useful for beginning businessmen, for whom an increased payment burden, as well as intensive reporting to the Federal Tax Service, may be undesirable. Also, many experienced entrepreneurs in order to increase the profitability of the business model can start working in special mode - if the characteristics of the business meet the criteria defined in the provisions of the law.
