CC BY
8
УДК 336.221.2
A.V. MATIUSHIN, Candidate of Economic Sciences, senior research associate, Head of the Department of financial and economic research, e-mail: almattt@mail.ru
A.S. PAVLII, Junior research associate, Department of financial and economic research, e-mail: pavlii-alona@mail.ru
State Institution «Economic Research Institute», Donetsk, Donetsk People's Republic
PRIORITIES FOR IMPROVING DPR TAX SYSTEM UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF MODERN TRANSFORMATIONS
The article is devoted to the research and analysis of the tax system of the Donetsk People's Republic together with the development of priorities for its improvement in the context of modern transformations. In particular the Law of the DPR «On the tax system» has been analyzed; the specifics of the formation and collection of republican taxes, local taxes and fees have been determined. A comparative characteristic of tax rates in the DPR, RF and Ukraine in the context of budget-forming taxes has been carried out. The main directions of improving the tax system of the DPR have been developed.
Keywords: tax system, budget-forming taxes, turnover tax, tax rate, fiscal portal.
Матюшин А.В., Павлий А.С. Основные направления совершенствования налоговой системы ДНР в условиях современных трансформаций.
Статья посвящена исследованию и анализу налоговой системы Донецкой Народной Республики, а также разработке основных направлений её совершенствования в условиях современных трансформаций. В частности, проанализирован Закон ДНР «О налоговой систе-
ме», определены особенности формирования и взимания республиканских налогов, местных налогов и сборов. Проведена сравнительная характеристика налоговых ставок в ДНР, РФ и Украине в разрезе бюджетообразующих налогов. Предложены основные направления совершенствования налоговой системы ДНР.
Ключевые слова: налоговая система, бюджетообразующие налоги, налог с оборота, налоговая ставка, бюджетно-налоговый портал.
In modern conditions, the tax system of the Donetsk People's Republic (hereinafter - DPR) is at the stage of its formation. The main normative legal act regulating procedural and institutional issues of calculating and collecting taxes in the Republic is the Law «On the tax system», the main purpose of which is to promote business activity, stabilize and increase the efficiency of material production, and meet state and social needs. In particular, the given Law defines the general principles of tax system building, taxes, fees, duties and other payments, as well as the rights, obligations and responsibilities of taxpayers and tax authorities.
© A.V. Matiushin, A.S. Pavlii, 2021
However, at present, in the conditions of instability and variability of the economy, this Law is subject to frequent amendments and adjustments, owing to the imperfection of the DPR taxation system. In this regard, the analysis of the tax system of the Republic, the identification of "weak points" and the development of the main directions of its improvement is of scientific and practical interest.
The research papers of such domestic scientists as A. Danilov [1], Yu. Shvetsov [2], I. Evseeva, M. Mirzoev [3] have been devoted to the problem of optimization and reformation of the tax system. Among foreign researchers, the papers of R. Bird [4], P. Bejakovic [5], B. Akitoby [6] can be noted. The directions of improving the tax system of the DPR have been reflected in the research papers of Ya. Davlianidze, K. Grebenyuk [7], O. Golovinov [8] and O. Sorokina [9].
Despite numerous studies devoted to the problem of improving the tax system, the question regarding the efficiency of its functioning in the context of modern transformations and the development of an innovative economy remains unresolved.
In this regard, the purpose of the article is to analyze the tax system of the Do-
netsk People's Republic, as well as to develop the main directions for its improvement in the context of modern transformations.
Having analyzed the Law of the DPR "On the Tax System", in particular, the peculiarities of the formation and collection of republican taxes, local taxes and fees, the following distinctive features of the DPR tax system can be determined:
concretization of the elements of the taxation process that were not worked out at the time of the young state formation;
simplification of the procedure for interaction between a taxpayer and tax authorities;
optimization of the tax burden and the system of granting benefits;
the presence of various tax regimes for business entities;
no value added tax; introduction of the turnover tax. During the analysis of the Law of the DPR "On the tax system" it is also found that the Ukrainian and Russian tax legislation has been the basis of this regulatory document [7]. However, despite this, there are significant differences in determining the tax rates of the main budget-forming taxes (table 1) [7-8; 9].
Taxes Country 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Value added tax DPR - - - - - - -
Russian Federation 18 18 10-18 10-18 10-18 20 0-20
Ukraine 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
Profit tax DPR 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
Russian Federation 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
Ukraine 19 18 18 18 18 18 18
Personal income tax (minimum rate) DPR 13 13 13 13 13 13 13
Russian Federation 13 13 13 13 13 13 13
Ukraine 15 15 18 18 18 18 18
Table 1
Comparative analysis of tax rates in the DPR, Russian Federation and Ukraine in the context of budget-forming taxes for 2014-2020, %
So, there is no value added tax (VAT) in the DPR, while in Ukraine and the Russian Federation the rate of this tax reaches 20%, and VAT revenues are a stable source of replenishment of the state budget [1, p. 34; 7]. At another point, the rejection of VAT has made it possible to avoid a number of significant shortcomings in the DPR tax system:
this tax is one of the significant factors that can stimulate inflation;
VAT restrains high-tech and science-intensive industries;
it has a high possibility of payment evasion in conditions of imperfect accounting and an unstable economy as a whole; it reduces aggregate demand. According to Chapter 12 of the Law of the DPR "On the Tax System", the profit tax rate in the Republic is 20%, for comparison in Ukraine it is 18% [1, p. 34; 10]. Despite this, in order to stimulate entrepreneurial activity and reduce the tax burden on small and medium-sized businesses, this Law establishes special tax regimes. In particular, according to Chapter 25-1, the payment of a simplified tax exempts a business entity from paying income tax. In addition, a special taxation regime for income tax payers of agricultural tax has been established in Art. 81 [10].
Despite the "strengths" in the Law of the DPR "On the tax system" listed above there are a number of "weaknesses", in particular:
certain legal norms are not clearly spelled out, that complicates the procedure for calculating and paying taxes for taxpayers;
the fiscal goal of tax collection dominates over the regulatory one, that leads to discouragement of entrepreneurial activity;
there is a high tax burden on small and medium-sized businesses, that can lead to a high level of tax evasion;
Furthermore in the paper it is proposed to conduct a more detailed analysis of the law of the DPR "On the tax system" in the context of individual taxes.
Excise tax. In accordance with Ch. 13 "Excise Tax" of the DPR Law "On the Tax System", specific rates for excise tax calculation are used (set like a specific amount of money per unit of goods) [10]. Presently, a draft bill according to which the excise tax on liquefied gas and oil products is increased has been registered. In the same year, the excise tax on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products has been enhanced. This slight increase in tax has affected the increase in the products sales cost significantly. On the one hand, the increase in the excise tax rate leads to additional tax revenues to the budget, and on the other hand, it negatively affects ordinary consumers, while not affecting entrepreneurs who add excise taxes to the cost of sale.
Transport tax. The procedure for calculation of transport tax in the Republic is enshrined in Ch. 14 "Transport tax" of the Law of the DPR "On the tax system" [10]. This regulatory legal document sets tax rates depending on engine power and the year of production of vehicles. In accordance with the legislation, the transport tax is collected annually from the vehicle owner upon passing the technical inspection. However, in practice, there is not a by-law that would regulate the procedure of a mandatory annual technical inspection. In addition, many taxpayers evade the transport tax due to the absence of a proper mechanism for administering this tax and the appliance of meager penalties, consequently the budget receives less funds.
Turnover tax. The turnover tax in the DPR is enshrined in Ch. 16 of this Law and it is valid in the Republic instead of the value added tax [10]. Turnover tax is more transparent in comparison with VAT and it is a revenue source of the budget due to the well-organized mechanism of its administration in the DPR. In accordance with the current legislation, business entities that operate under a simplified taxation system, as well as payers of agricultural tax, are exempt from paying turnover tax that significantly reduces the tax burden on small and medium-sized businesses in the Republic.
Land value tax. Currently, relations in the field of land taxation are regulated by the Law of the DPR "On the tax system" Ch. 19 "Payment for land" [10]. In accordance with this regulatory legal document, the amount of land tax is calculated on the basis of data on the normative monetary valuation of land plots, taking into account the indexation rate, determined in accordance with the procedure established by this chapter of this Law.
One of the advantages of the DPR land taxation system is the simplicity of its administration and fixed tax rates. In addition, the adoption of the Law of the DPR "On the Tax System" has provided full regulatory support for the sphere of land relations.
The main disadvantage of land taxation is the use of normative monetary valuation as a tax base, since in modern conditions most developed and developing countries apply market or cadastral values at calculations of the amount of land tax. The use of the normative monetary value as a tax base in the Republic derived from the absence of a land market and a number of other institutional features. In addition, the land tax rates is much lower than in other countries, and therefore land payments cannot be regarded as an effective source of the revenues of the budget.
Environmental tax. The absence of permissible discharge standards, as well as limits for discharges of pollutants is one of the significant defects in Ch. 20 "Environmental Tax" of this Law. The establishment of such standards would allow business entities to avoid paying the environmental tax while minimizing emissions into the environment. In addition, the law does not prescribe restrictions on the maximum allowable volume of emissions that can lead to excessive pollution of certain regions in which enterprises are located. In other words, if a business entity has a high solvency, it will be able to release pollutants into the environment without restrictions by paying a tax.
The identified shortcomings in the DPR tax system are temporary and caused
by the martial law. In the long term, with the onset of peacetime, the financial and fiscal systems might become more effective, simple and transparent, which is possible in the conditions of digital economy.
The creation of a state fiscal portal reflecting the planned indicators of income and expenditures of the state and local budgets and their implementation in real time both in the context of individual regions (districts) and individual taxpayers and recipients of budgetary funding, which, in turn, can be grouped according to territorial characteristics, industries, spheres of activity, amount of payments, etc., can become the basis for planning and implementing a unified fiscal policy of the state. The options for accessing this system may differ depending on the specifics of the implementation of fiscal policy, government policy in the field of state secrets, etc.
The development of a single fiscal portal in the DPR will enable to:
ensure full real-time accounting of tax receipts and other payments, as well as financing of expense items of budgets of all levels in the territorial, sectoral and target sections, with details down to a specific taxpayer and recipient of budget funds;
create conditions to control over the receipt and expenditure of budget funds by all participants of the fiscal system and society as a whole, ensuring the transparency of budgetary and tax processes, to minimize opportunities for misuse of budget funds, corruption and abuse of authority;
increase the efficiency of the state fiscal system and local self-government bodies through the choice of objects of budgetary financing by taxpayers at the expense of the amounts of taxes paid by them and other payments to the budgets of all levels;
identify objects that are on budget funding, in the existence of which society does not feel the need, and to make appropriate management decisions, taking into account the economic feasibility and social, cultural or other needs of the state.
Thus in order to eliminate the identified shortcomings in the tax system of the DPR, it is expedient to:
decrease tax burden on small businesses;
ensure the stability of tax legislation; ensure a high level of budget revenues by bringing the business out of the shadows; reduce the level of tax evasion; develop an appropriate mechanism of administration for particular taxes (transport tax, environmental tax);
simplify tax legislation; optimize tax rates for individual taxes. As a result, the implementation of these directions for improving the taxation system of the DPR will become the basis for the development of a strong and competitive state.
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А.В. МАТЮШИН, канд. экон. наук, ст. науч. сотр., заведующий отделом финансово-экономических исследований, e-mail: almattt@mail.ru,
А.С. ПАВЛИЙ, младший научный сотрудник, отдел финансово-экономических исследований, e-mail: pavlii-alona@mail.ru
ГУ «Институт экономических исследований», Донецк, ДНР
Статья поступила в редакцию 19.01.21
