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Taxes and Taxation
Reference:

Genesis of tax administration tools for "whitewashing the economy"

Shemyakina Marina Sergeevna

ORCID: 0000-0003-3515-2680

PhD in Economics

Associate Professor, Department of Accounting, Taxes and Economic Security, Volga State Technological University

424000, Russia, Yoshkar-Ola, Lenin Square, 3

sh.marina.s@gmail.com
Other publications by this author
 

 

DOI:

10.7256/2454-065X.2023.5.43910

EDN:

FIEIIY

Received:

26-08-2023


Published:

06-11-2023


Abstract: The subject of the study is tax relations that arise in the process of interaction between tax authorities and taxpayers and are aimed at inducing the latter to pay taxes and fees established by law. The evolution of tax administration tools for "whitewashing" sectors of the economy and individual objects is considered. In accordance with the content of the tools used, a classification was made into five stages of development: the period of formation and development of tax control; the period of creation of the concept of the taxpayer behavior management system; the period of introduction of new digital technologies that make it possible to identify the latent tax base; a period of increasing the efficiency of using tax administration tools aimed at motivating taxpayers to voluntarily pay taxes and use prices in transactions; the period of development of tax administration tools for the "whitewashing" of individual objects of taxation, including by individual taxpayers, the further development of the Federal Tax Service as a "digital service". The scientific novelty of the study is the development of theoretical provisions in terms of analyzing the historical development of tax administration tools for "whitewashing the economy". The definition of the concept of tax administration tools for "whitewashing" sectors of the economy and individual objects is given; the author's classification of tax administration tools for "whitewashing" economic sectors and individual objects is given, which are divided into 4 groups: the introduction of innovative technology that improves the quality of tax administration; regulation of industries and markets; strengthening tax control over individuals; identification of "mass" tax evasion schemes. An analysis of the algorithm for creating and implementing industry projects has been made.


Keywords:

tax administration, tax control, industry project, legalization of income, shadow economy, grain project, facility industry, public food, product marking, taxpayer behavior management

This article is automatically translated.

Introduction

The public declaration of the goals and objectives of the Federal Tax Service defines the following result of activity: "development of risk analysis tools and remote automated control aimed at voluntary fulfillment of obligations by taxpayers in full", which is achieved, among other things, through the development of methods to encourage taxpayers to voluntarily fulfill tax obligations in full [1].. At the same time, the implementation of this task is possible if a compromise is found between the state and business to establish a standard of the tax burden in the industry, in which all participants evaluate themselves and counterparties from the point of view of good faith. In this regard, the study of existing tax administration tools that make it possible to find such a compromise, as well as the development and application of new ones, is an urgent task of public administration and the scientific community.

Literature review

The term "whitewashing" is not used in foreign works, mainly researchers consider this process from the perspective of managing the behavior of taxpayers.

The determinants of tax discipline from the perspective of the theory of planned behavior and stakeholder theory perspective are considered in the work of Andi Nurwanah, T. Sutrisno, Rosidi Rosidi, Roekhudin Roekhudin. [2]. It is impossible not to agree with Mangoting Y., Tangkelobo H., Sina W. L., who believe that the model of relations between the state and taxpayers should be based on the principles of transparency, ethics and trust [3]. Of interest is the study of Kasipillai J. and Abdul-Jabbar H. [4], which is based on the hypothesis of the existence of gender and ethnic differences in the behavior of taxpayers. Tax compliance, as taxpayers' compliance with legal norms, is also the subject of many publications from the perspective of social norms [5], fiscal incentives [6], aggressiveness of tax control [7], digitalization [8].

Russian scientific research on tax administration in the last few years has been mainly devoted to the problems of digital transformation, as well as the use of tax tools to achieve sustainable development goals. Insufficient attention has been paid to the implementation of sectoral projects of the Federal Tax Service. The works of Bunina A.Yu. [9], Pavlyuchenko T.N. [10] reflect the problems of tax control in the grain market. The analysis of the current state of the cleaning services market in the Russian Federation was carried out in the works of E.V. Vyaznov [11], M.V. Belyanina [12]. Special attention is paid to tax clauses as an instrument of convergence of private and public legal regulation [13,14,15,16]. Labeling of goods as one of the elements of the model of interaction between taxpayers and tax authorities is considered in the works of Izotov A.V. [17] and Deeva T.V. [18].

The lack of comprehensive work led to the formulation of the purpose of this study–to develop theoretical provisions regarding the analysis of the historical development of tax administration tools for "whitewashing the economy".

 

Results

Let's consider the evolution of tax administration tools for the "whitewashing" of economic sectors and individual objects (presented in Table 1).

 

Table 1 – Evolution of tax administration tools for the "whitewashing" of economic sectors and individual objects (legalization of the latent tax base)

Stage name

Year

The object of regulation / introduction of innovative technology that allows to improve the quality of tax administration

The period of formation and development of tax control

until 2014

Taxpayers' activities based on the results of the selection.

 

Work on the legalization of the tax base, identification of economic entities that pay wages "in envelopes"

The period of creation of the concept of the taxpayer behavior management system

2014

Home appliance and Electronics market[19][1]

The period of introduction of new digital technologies that allow to identify the latent tax base

2015

Introduction of the VAT-2 ASK

2016

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the fur coats and fur products market

Implementation of ASK KKT

Fishing industry

Whitewashing the alcohol market

The period of increasing the efficiency of using tax administration tools aimed at motivating taxpayers to voluntarily pay taxes and apply prices in transactions

2017

Professional Cleaning and maintenance market (facility management market)

Microfinance organizations market

Branch of agriculture

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the pharmaceutical market (beginning of the experiment)

2018

Branch of the forest industry

2019

Introduction of the Institute of the self-employed

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the tobacco market

Introduction of labeling of products of Group 7 of the VZN: whitewashing the pharmaceutical market

 

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing of the clothing and textile industry market (beginning of the experiment)

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the wheelchair market (beginning of the experiment)

 

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the bicycle market (beginning of the experiment)

 

Construction industry

Freight transportation market

2020

Product Labeling Introduction: Whitewashing the shoe market

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the packaged water market (beginning of the experiment)

Introduction of product labeling: Whitewashing the photo goods market

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the perfume market (beginning of the experiment)

Introduction of product labeling: Whitewashing the tire and tire market

Implementation of ASK DFL

2021

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the beer and low-alcohol beverages market (beginning of the experiment)

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the market of biologically active additives

Product Labeling Introduction: Whitewashing the antiseptic market

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the milk and dairy products market

Branch project "Public catering"

An industry project to eliminate unfair behavior in the markets

Industry project of roadside service (implemented in the Moscow region)

2022

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the medical device market (beginning of the experiment)

The project of whitewashing the passenger transportation market (implemented in the Perm Region)

The project of whitewashing the market of private security agencies (implemented in the Perm Region)

 

The period of development of tax administration tools for the "whitewashing" of individual objects of taxation, including taxpayers by individuals, the further development of the Federal Tax Service as a "digital service"

 

2023

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing the soft drinks market (beginning of the experiment)

Introduction of product labeling: whitewashing of the market of sturgeon and salmon caviar (beginning of the experiment)

Checking for the use of business "fragmentation" schemes

Strengthening tax control over individuals: bloggers, freelancers

Test operation of the AUSN

Source: compiled by the author, the objects of regulation and technologies are given based on the analysis of official site messages https://www.nalog.gov.ru from 2013 to 2023 .

 

Encouraging taxpayers to voluntarily pay tax obligations is carried out, among other things, through the implementation of industry projects of the Federal Tax Service, developed within the framework of the concept of the taxpayer behavior management system. For the first time this concept was presented at a seminar in Irkutsk by Daniil Egorov in October 2014 [20] (Figure 1). Its essence lies in the selection of regulatory objects with a high degree of risk, then there is a selection of systemic methods of tax evasion, after which a dialogue with business is built: an offer to voluntarily pay taxes or conduct an on-site tax audit. In both cases, the consequence is the replenishment of tax revenues of budgets. The approbation of this concept took place in the market of household appliances and electronics. The tax authority revealed a scheme for importing products by a large distributor through a network of small firms, while the budget did not receive a large amount of income from VAT and customs duty (additional charges amounted to 1 billion rubles [21]. The result of the dialogue with business was the signing in April 2015 by the 10 largest representatives of the market of the "Charter on the transition to transparent schemes for importing electronics to Russia".

 

Figure 1. The concept of tax control based on the management of taxpayers' behavior

Source: compiled on the basis of [22]

 

In October 2015, the first results of the introduction of a new approach to control and supervisory activities appeared - the growth of taxes in January–August 2015 in real terms exceeded the growth of the economy [23]. Two factors influenced this. A change in legislation regarding the inclusion of information from the purchase book and the sales book in the VAT tax return from January 1, 2015, which allowed the tax authorities to generate Big Data. When applying analytical tools to this data, it became possible to track VAT transactions. To implement this task, the second version of the VAT ASK was put into operation in 2015 (the first version has been functioning since 2013), and in 2016 – the SUR of the VAT ASK 2, with the help of which a risk-oriented approach is carried out in assessing VAT taxpayers based on subject analysis and analysis of transactions. It is the analysis of the found VAT tax gaps that can be considered a determinant in the choice of the industry to be "whitewashed".

The use of automated control systems, such as the VAT control System, the KKT control system, the introduction of mandatory labeling of goods can be considered the beginning of a new stage in the fight against the shadow sector – the period of introduction of new digital technologies that allow to identify the latent tax base.

ASK KKT allows tax authorities to carry out, among other things, remote checks and is a database of all receipts generated by cash registers.

Another important stage in the development of control tools is the introduction into commercial operation of an automated personal income control system (ASK DFL). The capabilities of the system are shown in Figure 2. The use of this system allows us to apply a new approach to identifying salary payments "in envelopes" – search for tax gaps in personal income tax and insurance premiums, conduct better modeling of the consequences of changes in legislation, and this system is a personalized database for individuals. If the system is integrated with data from other databases, it will be able to compare the income of individuals with their expenses. However, this action has not yet been implemented, as its implementation requires discussion, including at the level of taxpayers.

Figure 2. Capabilities of ASK DFL

Source: compiled by the author according to the Report of the Head of the Department of Taxation of Personal Income and Administration of Insurance Premiums of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Rodina N.V. [24]

Among the innovations that reduce the burden of the taxpayer, it should also be noted the automated simplified taxation system, which is being tested from July 1, 2022 in four subjects of the Russian Federation. The tax authority undertakes all calculations for paying taxes and filling out reports (with the exception of the EFS-1), in addition, payers, including individual entrepreneurs, will be exempt from paying insurance premiums, with the exception of injury contributions (in 2023 – 2217 rubles). Despite the fact that this special tax regime is most advantageous to apply only to certain categories of taxpayers (for example, sole proprietors without employees or LLC/Sole proprietors with high wages, for which higher rates of insurance premiums are applied in other taxation regimes when calculating insurance premiums), it is assumed that its implementation will help reduce the amount of wages "in envelopes" due to almost 0 rates on insurance premiums.

Labeling of goods is a process associated with the identification of each unit of goods and tracing its path from the manufacturer to the buyer. This tool allows you to combat counterfeit products. The results of the project in the first year of labeling fur coats and fur products showed "an 8-fold increase in the turnover of goods and an increase in the number of legalized market participants by 25%" [25].

In our opinion, the next key stage in the process of "whitewashing" can be considered the introduction of the institute of the self-employed and its possible use throughout the country from July 2020. The results are presented in Figure 1 and indicate an upward trend in the number of registered persons applying the special tax regime "professional income tax".

Figure 3. The number of registered self-employed, people in Russia as a whole

Source: compiled by the author according to official website data https://rmsp.nalog.ru/statistics2.html

 

In February 2021, the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the Largest Taxpayers No. 10 was established, which carries out tax administration of the largest taxpayers - individuals. The results of her work are high–profile cases related to the fragmentation of business at the beginning of 2023, which were widely sanctified in the media in view of the publicity of the defendants in these cases.

The transition from continuous inspections to the need to control and regulate the activities of entire industries is associated with the implementation of "industry projects". All industry projects are based on three principles: the principle of creating a transparent control environment in industries and markets, the principle of guaranteeing security from unfair competition; the principle of mutual trust between the tax authority and taxpayers and openness to dialogue. These principles are also reflected in the Manifesto of the Federal Tax Service of Russia, presented at the expanded board on May 30, 2022. The algorithm for implementing and developing an industry project of the Federal Tax Service of Russia is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Algorithm for the development and implementation of an industry project of the Federal Tax Service of Russia

Source: compiled by the author

At the first stage, environmental monitoring is carried out, which consists in analyzing the activities of taxpayers in a certain industry. Next comes the scoring of the industry. The indicators for which benchmarks will be calculated are selected. A benchmark is a benchmark for calculating deviations. At the second stage, the objects of control are determined. Based on the deviations, the IDO (due diligence index) is determined and all taxpayers are divided into three zones: green, yellow and red – depending on the deviation from the standard (for example, for the industry's facilitation, getting into the yellow zone occurs when the indicator deviates from the benchmark from 0 to 20%, more than 20% is the red zone). Thus, a register of taxpayers of a certain industry is created. At the third stage, the objectives of the industry project and the "roadmap" of the stages of its implementation are being developed. The fourth stage is the direct implementation of the developed project and includes an information company (interaction with the media, booklets, an information company on the official website of the Federal Tax Service), meetings with taxpayers (including at commissions on the legalization of the tax base), various kinds of prevention of tax offenses. The work of the tax authorities is aimed at popularizing the introduction of tax clauses in contracts, signing charters by taxpayers and voluntary payment of taxes to the budget system. At the fifth stage, the results of the work done are evaluated, repeated analysis and control of the business environment is carried out.

Up-to-date information on the implementation of the Federal Tax Service of industry projects is contained on the electronic resource https://ðàäî.ðóñ . The structure of the information resource is shown in Figure 5.

 

Figure 5. Resources containing open information about the level of tax discipline in terms of VAT, availability of labor and material resources

Source: compiled on the basis of [26]

 

At the moment, the Federal Tax Service is implementing two main industry projects: "Markets" and "Public Catering". In addition, there is an industry project "roadside service" in the Moscow Region, and "whitewashing the passenger transportation market" in the Perm Region.

According to the results of the assessment of the activities of the Federal Tax Service of Russia in the Perm Region for 2022, 92 people were employed as part of the project to whitewash the passenger transportation market, and the average salary increased by 28% [27]. For other industry projects, in Russia as a whole, there is also an increase in kkt revenue.

The next industry that came under the attention of the Federal Tax Service will be transport. This conclusion was made by us on the basis of the speech of the deputy head of the Control Department of the Federal Tax Service Varvara Burlevich [28] at the forum "Logistics. The New Present" in November 2022, The factors - grounds for regulating the control of the industry are:

– a large number of participants (over 41,000 companies);

– unfair competition in the transport services market;

– VAT gaps;

– problems with the calculation of personal income tax and insurance premiums.

Despite the fact that the project has not yet been officially approved and its implementation has not begun, the Federal Tax Service suggests using standard tools to whitewash the industry:

– use of a tax clause in contracts with counterparties;

– creation of the transport industry committee

– scoring system of the market (risk analysis of companies doing business, division of companies according to the principle of "traffic lights")

– creation of an association of conscientious taxpayers.

Such measures will affect the market as a whole. Firstly, there will be a revision of the pricing policy, and secondly, the legalization of part of the tax base.

The analysis of the activities of tax authorities makes it possible to identify the tools of tax administration for the "whitewashing" of economic sectors and individual objects – the legalization of the latent tax base, which is resources intentionally withdrawn by the taxpayer from taxation and not included in the calculation of tax [29] (shown in Figure 6). All instruments are classified by us into 4 groups:

– introduction of innovative technology to improve the quality of tax administration;

– regulation of industries and markets;

– strengthening of tax control over subjects- individuals;

– identification of "mass" tax avoidance schemes.

Figure 6. Tax administration tools for "whitewashing" economic sectors and individual objects

Source: compiled by the author

 

Thus, the tools of tax administration for the "whitewashing" of economic sectors and individual objects are understood as such methods and methods that make it possible to transform the latent tax base into tax revenues of the budget.

It should be noted that the use of all tools together will improve the quality of tax administration, create a transparent tax environment, fair competition for business, increase tax revenues of the budget system and tax security of public legal entities.

Conclusion

The scientific novelty of the conducted research lies in the development of theoretical provisions regarding the analysis of the historical development of tax administration tools for "whitewashing the economy". The definition of the concept of tax administration tools for the "whitewashing" of economic sectors and individual objects is given; the author's classification of tax administration tools for the "whitewashing" of economic sectors and individual objects is given, which are divided into 4 groups: the introduction of innovative technology to improve the quality of tax administration; regulation of industries and markets; strengthening tax control over natural entities individuals; identification of "mass" tax avoidance schemes. The evolution of tax administration tools for the "whitewashing" of economic sectors and individual objects is considered, according to the content of the tools used, classification into five stages of development is made.

It seems that the material of this article will become the basis for a very serious study– the search for an industry that could become the next project of the Federal Tax Service.

[1] https://www.nalog.gov.ru/rn77/news/smi/5433207/

References
1. Public declaration of the goals and objectives of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for 2022 Electronic resource. Retrieved from https://www.nalog.gov.ru/rn77/about_fts/og/
2. Nurwanah, A., Sutrisno, T., Rosidi, R., & Roekhudin, R. (2018). Determinants of tax compliance: Theory of planned behavior and stakeholder theory perspective. Problems and perspectives in management, (16, Iss. 4), 395-407.
3. Mangoting, Y., Tangkelobo, H., & Sina, W. L. (2019). Taxpayer compliance model based on transparency, ethics, and trust. Jurnal Akuntansi Dan Bisnis, 19(1), 104-118.
4. Kasipillai, J., & Abdul-Jabbar, H. (2006). Gender and ethnicity differences in tax compliance. Asian Academy of Management Journal, 11(2), 73-88.
5. Nur Cahyonowati & Dwi Ratmono & Agung Juliarto, 2023. "The role of social norms and trust in authority in tax compliance dilemmas," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 2174084-217, December.
6. Nwokoye E. S. et al. (2023). Fiscal incentives and tax compliance behaviour in industrial clusters: a survey of clusters in South-east Nigeria. Journal of African Business, 24(1), 147-166.
7. Blaufus K., Reineke J., & Trenn I. (2023). Perceived tax audit aggressiveness, tax control frameworks and tax planning: an empirical analysis. Journal of Business Economics, 93(3), 509-557.
8. Ouyang J., Liu S., & Li H. (2023). How does the development of digital finance affect small business tax compliance? Empirical evidence from China. China Economic Review. Retrieved from https://ssrn.com/abstract=4237264 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4237264
9. Bunina, A. Yu. & T. N. Pavlyuchenko. (2021). Tax control in the grain market. Scientific and methodological electronic journal "Concept", 6, 149-155. doi: 10.24412/2304-120X-2021-13008
10. Pavlyuchenko, T. N. (2021). Grain project: a form of tax control. Economics. the science. innovation: Proceedings of the II International Scientific and Practical Conference dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Donetsk National Technical University, Donetsk, March 19, 2021 (pp. 341-344). Donetsk: Donetsk National Technical University.
11. Zavisnov, E.V. (2022) Analysis of the current state of the cleaning services market in the Russian Federation. Eurasian Scientific Journal, 9. Retrieved from https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/analiz-sovremennogo-sostoyaniya-rynka-kliningovyh-uslug-v-rossiyskoy-federatsii
12. Belyanina, M. V. (2021) Cleaning: a reboot. Nalogoved, 5, 70-72.
13. Dementiev, I. V. (2023) Tax clauses in contracts and the competence of tax authorities. Russian Journal of Legal Studies, 10(1), 21-27. doi:10.17816/RJLS293399
14. Gulkova, E. L., Karp M. V., & Tipalina M. V. Progressive methods of counteracting illegal tax optimization in the context of digitalization of the economy. Financial Economics, 10, 139-141.
15. Tsindeliani, I. A. & E. V. Bezikova (2022) Tax clause as a tool for convergence of private and public legal regulation. Bulletin of Tomsk State University. Law, 43, 182-197.
16. Voinov, V. V. (2021) Information support of "tax clauses. Nalogoved, 6, 37-47.
17. Izotov, A. V. (2020) Legal nature of labeling of certain types of goods in the context of digitalization of the activities of tax authorities. Modern Society and Law, 4(47), 33-38.
18. Deeva, T. V. (2020) Digital technologies in the system of modern models of interaction between taxpayers and tax authorities. Economics and Management, 26(8(178)), 840-850. doi:10.35854/1998-1627-2020-8-840-850
19. Electronic resource. Retrieved from https://www.nalog.gov.ru/rn77/news/smi/5433207/
20. Electronic resource. Retrieved from https://www.nalog.gov.ru/rn77/news/seminar/4983989/
21. Electronic resource. Retrieved from https://www.rbc.ru/finances/16/02/2015/54e149899a794757f57eb7e4
22. Presentation by Daniil Egorov October 16, 2015 «On the practice of the Federal Tax Service of Russia in implementing a risk-based approach in the implementation of control and supervisory activities» Electronic resource. Retrieved from http://council.gov.ru/media/files/41d589309a50b0750aaa.pdf
23. Report by Daniil Egorov «On the practice of the Federal Tax Service of Russia in implementing a risk-based approach in the implementation of control and supervision activities». Electronic resource. Retrieved from http://council.gov.ru/media/files/41d589309a50b0750aaa.pdf
24. Electronic resource. Retrieved from http://nadymregion.test.yanao.ru
25. Digital technologies of tax administration: a monograph for undergraduates studying in the programs of the directions «Economics», «State Audit» and «Finance and Credit». (2019). S. A. Belozerov, L. I. Goncharenko, Yu. B. Bubnova [and others]. Moscow: Limited Liability Company «Publishing House «Unity-Dana».
26. Official site of the association of conscientious taxpayers. Electronic resource. Retrieved from https://ðàäî.ðóñ
27. Report of the head of the department for analysis and planning of tax audits of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the Perm Territory Mikheeva N.N.. Electronic resource. Retrieved from https://www.nalog.gov.ru/html/sites/www.rn59.nalog.ru/media/221201pr_m.pdf
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29. Shemyakina M. S. (2016). Development of methodological support for managing the tax potential of the region and its municipalities. Yoshkar-Ola.

First Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The subject of the study. Based on the title, the article should be devoted to the genesis of tax administration tools for "whitewashing the economy". The content of the article, in general, corresponds to the stated topic. It would be interesting to supplement the directions of further development, including through the practical implementation of the author's recommendations. The research methodology is based on the systematization, analysis and synthesis of data on the use of tax administration tools to "whitewash the economy". The article is positively characterized by the fact that graphic objects are actively used in the text, which make it possible to visually understand the composition and structure of the subjects under consideration, as well as the dynamics of their development. At the same time, individual data and conclusions are not consistent with each other (this will be discussed below), it is recommended to use mathematical analysis methods to solve the problem, allowing to establish the presence of dependencies between the quantities. The relevance of the study of issues related to ensuring the whitewashing of the economy is beyond doubt, because it fully meets the national interests of the Russian Federation. High-quality scientific research on these issues is expected in the scientific and expert communities, as well as in the state authorities of the Russian Federation (including the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and the Bank of Russia). Scientific novelty is present in the text. In particular, the results of the systematization of tax administration tools for the "whitewashing" of economic sectors and individual facilities are of interest (presented in Table 1) and the algorithm for the development and implementation of an industry project of the Federal Tax Service of Russia (Figure 4). Style, structure, content. The style of presentation is scientific. Colloquial and journalistic statements were not revealed in the text. The structure of the article has been formed by the author, it is recommended to supplement it with the blocks "methods and conditions of research", "discussion of the results obtained", "conclusions and further directions of research". The content of the article is prepared at a good level, but an important block is missing in terms of forecasts and development plans, at least until 2030. It is also noteworthy that there are no conclusions or inconsistencies. For example, the author argues that "the next, in our opinion, key stage in the process of "whitewashing" can be considered the introduction of the institute of the self-employed and its possible use throughout the country from July 2020." The figure shows the dynamics of growth in the number of registered self-employed. However, how much does this affect the whitewashing of the economy? There is a practice of registering self-employed employees in order to minimize tax payments, which negatively affects budget revenues of the budgetary system of the Russian Federation. How does the author take this fact into account? Bibliography. The bibliographic list includes 29 titles. The author is recommended to strengthen the literature review of 2022-2023, since there is practically no current list of relevant scientific sources, but at the same time the issues raised by the author are constantly in demand among the scientific community. Appeal to opponents. Despite the generated list of references, the author has not built any scientific discussion in the text. When finalizing the article, it is necessary to discuss the scientific results obtained with those contained in the scientific works of other authors. This will enhance the quality of the conclusions drawn and increase the relevance of the scientific article to the potential readership. Conclusions, the interest of the readership. Taking into account all of the above, the article requires a little revision, after which it will be of interest to a wide readership.

Second Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The development of tax administration is one of the key factors for ensuring transparency and efficiency of economic activity, as well as the legality of economic transactions in Russia. The development of tax administration is aimed at creating transparency of the tax system, contributing to taxpayers' compliance with tax legislation, as well as stimulating the development of entrepreneurial initiatives. In Russia, tax administration is actively developing, which helps to increase tax collection. The presented article is devoted to the study of the formation and development of tax administration in the context of the need to find ways to solve the problem of whitewashing the Russian economy. The title of the article corresponds to the content. The article highlights sections with subheadings, which meets the requirements of the journal "Taxes and Taxation". The article highlights 4 sections: "Introduction", "Literature review", "Results", "Conclusion", which corresponds to the classical requirements for the structure of a scientific article. In the "Introduction", the author substantiates the importance and relevance of the chosen research area. In the section "Literature review" the author describes the approaches of foreign and domestic researchers to the problem under study. Also in this section, the author sets the goal of the study - to develop theoretical provisions regarding the analysis of the historical development of tax administration tools for "whitewashing the economy". The Results section is devoted to describing the evolution of tax administration in Russia in the context of ensuring economic whitewashing, as well as tools and methods of tax administration, the concept of tax administration, the development of technologies and projects of tax administration of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation. At the end of the article, the author fixes the conclusions based on the results of the study, determines the scientific novelty and promising directions for further research. The author's approach to the periodization of the development of tax administration with the allocation of three stages is debatable, where the allocation of the first stage – as the appearance and the last stage – as further development looks artificial. We believe that this periodization needs detailed analysis and scientific justification. The author's classification of tax administration tools according to the "whitewashing" of economic sectors and individual objects, which are divided into 4 groups, deserves attention: the introduction of innovative technology that improves the quality of tax administration; regulation of industries and markets; strengthening tax control over natural persons; identification of "mass" tax avoidance schemes. The methodological basis of the research is analysis, synthesis, ascent from the abstract to the concrete, logical and historical method, as well as other general scientific methods. Specific economic methods were not used. The author actively uses illustrations of the research results in the article. The article presents 1 table and 6 figures. We believe that this helps to increase the level of readers' perception of the results of the author's research. The relevance of the article is beyond doubt. The development of tax administration is one of the key factors for ensuring transparency and efficiency of economic activity in Russia. In recent years, the Government and, first of all, the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation have been actively working on the development of tax administration, technologies are being improved, the latest developments in the field of digitalization are being introduced, electronic services are being launched, new tax regimes are being developed. The most important projects are industry-specific, as well as to ensure the traceability of goods. They not only contribute to the whitewashing of the economy, but also make it possible to increase tax collection, which is very important in conditions of increasing budget deficits and global geo-economic turbulence. The article has practical significance, since the results obtained by the author can be used to determine further directions for the development of tax administration as a tool contributing to the whitewashing of the economy. In the article, the author formulated a vision of scientific novelty. The author believes that it consists in the development of theoretical provisions regarding the analysis of the historical development of tax administration tools for "whitewashing the economy". This formulation of novelty differs from the classical one, and does not provide information about the difference between author's proposals from existing ones, as well as about their usefulness. The presentation style is scientific and meets the requirements of the journal. The bibliography is presented by 29 sources: research by foreign and domestic scientists. Most of the sources are relevant – no older than 5 years. All sources are referenced in the text of the article. The volume and quality of the bibliography meet the requirements of the journal. However, the design of the list of sources does not meet the requirements, some links are inactive / outdated, for example, link 24. We emphasize that despite the abundance of sources, it was not possible to expand the scientific discussion in the article. The advantages of the article include, firstly, the relevance and significance of the chosen research area. Secondly, the presence of practical significance and an element of scientific novelty, proposals for the classification of tax administration tools in order to whitewash the Russian economy, and in particular its branches and individual projects. Thirdly, there is an abundance of illustrative material. Fourth, the breadth of the author's coverage of the processes and projects of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation for the development of tax administration to whitewash the Russian economy. The disadvantages include the following. Firstly, the need to clarify the scientific novelty of the study. Secondly, the need to adjust the design of the bibliographic list. Thirdly, the need to justify the allocation of three stages in the development of tax administration in Russia in order to whitewash the economy. Conclusion. The article is devoted to the study of the formation and development of tax administration in the context of the need to find ways to solve the problem of whitewashing the Russian economy. The article is able to arouse the interest of a wide readership of the magazine. It is recommended to accept for publication in the journal "Taxes and Taxation", provided that the comments indicated in the text of this review are eliminated.