Abstract: In the last few years the question about reformation of the transport tax has been discussed quite often. The authors of the present research article study the federal and regional legislation regulating the procedure for tax collection, analyze the problems and contradictions in the method of tax calculation and payment, describe disadvantages of the existing system of transport taxation, determine the reasons of this system being inefficient and prove the contradiction of the existing transport tax to the basic taxation principles. Moreover, the authors touch upon the flow of tax revenues into the consolidated budget and compare it to changes in the number of taxpayers and taxable units, i.e. transport vehicles in our case. The authors study the applicable legislation regulating the procedure for tax collection and analyze statistical data on transport tax revenues into the budget over the last three years compared to the number of taxpayers and taxable units. The authors discuss alternatives to reformation of transport taxation and make a conclusion about what would be the best solution of the problems and contradictions in today’s legislation and the method of transport tax collection. The authors also suggest to establish a new system of transport tax collection and describe the principles this system should be based o in Russia. They also predicts the economic benefit from introducing the aforesaid system of transport taxation.

Keywords: transport tax, federal legislation, contradiction to the law, tax differentiation, taxable base, environmental tax, fiscal revenues, prospects of reformation, method of calculation, tax units, taxable events.

Abstract: In the present article the subject under review is the shadow entrepreneurial activity performed by organizations with the high level of tax risk. Special attention is paid to the reasons of taxpayers leaving for the shadow sector of economic activity. It is noted that taxpayers do that because they want to receive the profits that are usually expected in this sphere. Generally speaking, application of Independent criteria to evaluating tax risks, as developed by the Federal Tax Service of Russia, is aimed against shadow economic activity and has the purpose of determining patterns of tax evasion. In order to evaluate efficiency of applied Independent criteria, the author of the article introduces the term ‘risk zone’ and offers a mathematical economic model to evaluate expected revenues of organizations in this risk zone. The aforesaid model allows to define the main directions for reducing the earning capacities of organizations that perform their activity in the risk zone. The author also analyzes the main reasons why taxpayers leave for the shadow sector. The main reasons include the high tax burden and low efficiency of tax authorities. The author also offers the model for quantitative evaluation of the total tax burden depending on types of production. He also offers a particular action plan on selecting the best strategy for collection of arrears by tax authorities.

Keywords: shadow economy, tax risks, evaluation of shadow profits, evaluation model, tax burden, tax payable, distribution of gross revenues, unified taxable base, value added, strategy for collection of arrears.

Abstract: The author of the present research article analyzes theoretical and practical aspects of using back guarantee in tax relations. Base on the comparative legal analysis of tax and civil legislation, the author describes peculiarities of bank guarantee for taxation purposes compared to its analogy in civil law and other means of securing an obligation of a taxpayer to pay a tax. The author studies the legal nature of guarantee liability and amount of money payable by the guarantor bank as well as the procedure for collection of that amount. The author defines the extent and limits of a guarantor’s liability and analyzes doctrinal sources and legal precedents regarding bank guarantee. The author also summarizes the experience of financial and legal science and civil law on the matter. Based on a number of features, bank guarantee for taxation purposes is quite different from its analogy in civil law. A guarantor and tax authority establish special non-tax obligation to pay the sum that is mandatory and payable based on the legal nature and public nature of such payment. The author also introduces a new term ‘request for paying the amount of money’ that acquires a characteristic value and becomes an independent legal phenomenon in tax relations. The scope of responsibility of a guarantor bank includes percents payable by a taxpayer for the period of delay or extension of payment or tax credit pursuant to Clause 4 of Article 64 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The extent of a guarantor’s liability is limited to the sum the guarantee was granted for and not affected by the weakening of financial standing of a taxpayer.

Keywords: bank guarantee, security bond (means of securing an obligation), civil legislation, tax legislation, tax liability, tax duty, guarantor bank, taxpayer, taxpayer’s responsibility, nature of guarantee liability.

Abstract: Today’s system of taxation of agriculture does not perform all the functions it is supposed to and needs to be better studied due to the carried out tax reforms and state policy supporting national manufacturers and tax reforms One of the most significant goals of tax regulation of agricultural economic activity is the harmonized combination of instruments that are usually used when tax liabilities are established. In the most common meaning, it traditionally relates to the combination of the fiscal and regulating functions of taxation in the economic policy. The purpose of the present research article is to analyze the aspects of implementing tax instruments guaranteeing stable development of branches of the agricultural sector. Methodological grounds of the research include fundamental concepts introduced by Russian and foreign researchers, legislative acts and regulations of state authorities, federal laws, President’s Decrees and Government Resolutions of the Russian Federation and materials of research-to-practice conferences on the matters of agricultural manufacturers. The author uses the abstract logical, monographic and other methods of economic research. The scientific novelty of the research is in creation of theoretical and methodological grounds and development of practical recommendations on determination of tax instruments guaranteeing stable development of braches of agricultural sector. Out of all the variety of instruments, the main instruments included: 1. Different tax treatments that can be used by a company in the process of tax planning (Article 18 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) including Simplified Tax System, Single Agricultural Tax and Single Tax on Imputed Income); 2. Different kinds of tax rebates that can be used for particular activities for the purpose of tax optimization (for example, corporate property tax rebates for companies at which disabled people constitute more than 50 % of employees); 3. Tax rebates provided by International laws for the purpose of avoiding double taxation (for example, interaction of companies that have been registered in foreign states and have the beneficial tax regime) and others.

Keywords: profit tax, value added tax, agriculture, tax rebates, special tax treatment, tax regulation, agricultural sector, tax instruments, land tax, transport tax.

Abstract: The Resolution of the Plenary Assembly of the Supreme Court of Arbitration of Russia ‘On particular issues arising during application of the first part of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation by arbitration courts’ has a whole section devoted to enforced tax collection. However, there are still some practical issues of implementation of tax enforcement that are left beyond the scope of the Plenary Assembly and in any way can’t be solved without making amendments to tax legislation. The author of the present research article views the aspects of tax enforcement listed in Part 3. The author uses methods that are traditionally used in legal researches including the method of comparative legal analysis and the method of systems analysis. The author touches upon the following aspects of tax enforcement: collection of taxes payable before the period of performance of tax notice expires; tax collection by means of monetary funds and other property of a taxpayer and legal collection of taxes payable after reversal of a decision to collect taxes due to the abuse of legal process by tax authorities. The article also contains suggestions on how to solve the aforesaid problems. The author offers to include these suggestions in the Main Directions in Tax Policy 2015.

Keywords: tax collection, tax enforcement, performance of tax obligations, tax payment, free will tax payment, tax notice (request), Tax Code, tax administration, taxes, taxation.

Abstract: The subject under review is the interaction between tax authorities and taxpayers in the process of performing tax obligations by taxpayers. Within the framework of the research the author offers his own term ‘balance of interests between tax authorities and taxpayers’. He defines it as the relation between mutually connected and balanced needs of the state in a taxpayer’s finances, on one hand, and desires and opportunities of a taxpayer to satisfy these needs, on the other hand, as well as the necessity to maintain this relation and balance within the legal framework. The author specifies the gaps in modern judicial method of resolution of conflicts between tax authorities and taxpayers including: 1) long period of dispute consideration; 2) the absence of sufficient regulatory system. The author also analyzes the problems of the process of conflict resolution including: 1) contradictions between the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and Civil Code of the Russian Federation; 2) conflicts between procedures in public law and private law; 3) possible establishment of administrative courts. In response to the aforesaid issues, the author offers the following solutions: to adopt a new codified procedural act at the legal level called Administrative Procedural Code and impose disciplinary and administrative responsibility on officials for committing tax violations that do not involve financial responsibility. The main research methods used in the article are: analytical method that allows to analyze the applicable legislation and judicial practice and comparative legal method that allows to compare the existing Russian and foreign legislations. The author provides the definition of his own term ‘balance of interests between tax authorities and taxpayers’ as ‘the relation between mutually connected and balanced needs of the state in a taxpayer’s finances, on one hand, and desires and opportunities of a taxpayer to satisfy these needs, on the other hand, as well as the necessity to maintain this relation and balance within the legal framework’ and offers to establish the public procedural legislation by the means of adopting the Administrative Procedural Code of the Russian Federation. The author also offers to impose administrative and disciplinary responsibility on tax officials for committing tax violations. The author shares his opinion that revenue procedures should be simplified for individual ‘good faith’ taxpayers and, on the contrary, a more complicated procedure for tax payment and calculation should be established for persistent non-payers so that tax authorities could better control their activities or even exclude such payers from the category of good faith taxpayers. Noteworthy that the decision to include these or those taxpayers into the category of good faith taxpayers or to exclude them from that category should be still made by the Federal Tax Service.

Keywords: tax, law, balance, taxpayer, tax authority, taxation system, taxation process, regulatory system, procedure, responsibility.

Abstract: Based on the analysis of the legislation of the XVIIth – early XXth century, the author of the article traces back the history of formation of the Russian mechanism for legal regulation of sales of tobacco and tobacco products. From absolute prohibition of tobacco, the history of tobacco sales has undergone different taxation systems including government monopoly, revenue leasing and excise system. Research of the materials of the Ministry of Finances and legislative acts of 1881 – 1913 contained in the Complete collection of laws of the Russian empire has allowed to determine particular measures undertaken by the government of Alexander III and Nicolas II to improve the legal regulation of tobacco sales for the purpose of maintaining the excise system of their taxation and retaining the principles of free trade at the same time. The author shows that in 1881 – 1913 the mechanism of legal regulation of tobacco sales was formed on the basis of exclusion fiscal interests of the state while protection of public health was not even the secondary concern of the government in the process of regulation of this branch of trade.

Keywords: law, tobacco, trade, sales, monopoly, excise, parcel post, patent, tax, supervision, responsibility, revenue leasing.

Abstract: Among other financial law entities, public enterprise takes a special place due to its specific features of a state unitary enterprise that is based on the right of operational management. In respect of finances, public enterprises are under the governmental control performed by competent authorities that influence the financial activity and independency of public enterprises. Improvement of public enterprises’ activity is one of the priorities of state policy. Products made by the enterprise and profits from using the property managed by the enterprise as well as the property purchased by the enterprise on the funds received by the enterprise from its activity are in the federal ownership. Public enterprises organize their financial and economic activities base on the need to perform works and render services in accordance with the approved profit and expenditure targets and the plan of enterprise activities. Distribution and use of profits received by the public enterprise are performed according to the established procedure. The public enterprise keeps realtime accounting and accounting records of results of their activities and submits reports according to the established procedure. The author of the present research article uses the general scientific (logical, historical, systems, functional and other) methods and private scientific methods (legal, statistical, sociological methods, modeling, forecasting and etc.). As a financial law entity, public enterprises are legal entities that are allowed to have their independent balance sheet, operating and other kinds of accounts at credit institutions, round seal showing the full legal name of the enterprise in Russian and official address. Like other financial law entities, public enterprises also have certain rights and responsibilities to perform in order to guarantee mobilization, distribution (redistribution) and use of state (municipal) monetary funds.

Keywords: financial law entity, system of entities, public enterprise, legal standing, legal capacity, collective entities, individual entities, top management, financial activity, public enterprise auditing.