Taxes are the oldest financial institution. They arose at the same time that the state appeared. In its development, taxation changed its form and content several times. Our material will describe in detail the concept, subject and sources of tax law in Russia.
Tax law: general characteristics
Any legal branch in Russia is a set of certain norms regulating social relations. The tax branch of law is no exception. It regulates social relations related to education and the collection of taxes in the budget system.
The taxation system is one of the branches of financial law. However, it does not stand out as a separate economic and legal institution. The question of the independent nature of the tax law was raised in 1998, when legislators decided to create the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
The legal sphere under consideration, which is still being formed to this day, is called upon to play a crucial role in the socio-economic transformation of the system, in the developmentproduction and ensure the financial condition of the country. At the same time, the sources of tax law affect the administrative, civil, criminal and other legal spheres.
Thus, the legal branch under consideration can be studied as the most important area of the state system and as a separate scientific discipline. In both cases, the system of sources of tax law of the Russian Federation plays an important role. On their basis, the subject, methods and structure of the tax legal industry are formed.
Subject and Methods
The subject, sources and methods of tax law are fixed by legal scholars. There are many versions regarding this or that element of the legal industry. One of the widespread versions about the subject of tax law says that it is a set of homogeneous property and related personal non-property social relations.
The area of tax regulation includes the following relations:
- appeal against documents of tax authorities, as well as inaction or actions of officials;
- setting and levying fees and taxes;
- holding accountable for committing financial offenses;
- protection of the interests of the legal rights of all participants in tax legal relations;
- implementation of tax control over compliance with the law;
- execution by individuals of their tax functions and obligations.
The methodology of the considered legal industry is divided into two groups: imperative anddispositive. The imperative group is a system of authoritative prescriptions. This is a method of legal influence, in which the state independently forms the procedures for introducing and paying taxes. People are literally being forced to comply with government orders.
The dispositive group of methods is associated with recommendations and approvals. In tax law, they are used extremely rarely. The manifestation of dispositive methods is possible in consultation with representatives of the fiscal authorities, determining the subjects of jurisdiction, etc.
System of sources of tax law
The legal source is the external form of expression of certain rules and foundations. Legal acts of state power, containing certain rules on the tax legal industry, are a set of sources of tax law of the Russian Federation.
All regulations are classified into several groups. Here it is worth highlighting:
- international Russian treaties;
- The Constitution and the Russian Tax Code;
- federal laws;
- regional laws and acts of local governments.
The tax code is the most important normative source of the considered branch of law. It is built from a number of federal laws. In this case, all listed sources of tax law have the same value. They are an integral part of financial lawmaking, and are also a form of existence of tax rules, that is, their external expression.
All sourcestax law are formally defined, obligatory and legal. They are based on the principle of separation of powers and are based on the federal nature of the Russian state.
International Sources of Tax Law
The Russian legal system is entirely dependent on international norms and regulations. This is enshrined in Article 15 of the national Constitution. Any legal branch is based on international regulations, and even more so should not contradict them. This rule also applies to the tax sphere.
Modern international law includes the following groups of treaties on taxation:
- special double tax treaties;
- an agreement on mutual assistance and cooperation in the implementation of tax laws.
The 1977 Model Convention of the Economic Cooperation Organization is worth mentioning separately. This document explains how to organize optimal taxation systems.
On December 2, 1994, the Russian Government ratified the Decree "On Concluding Agreements between the Government of the Russian Federation and Governments of Foreign States on Cooperation and Exchange of Information in the Sphere of Financial Legislation". Several similar agreements have been concluded with different states - for example, with Uzbekistan (1995), Moldova (1996) and a number of other countries.
All of the above treaties are included in the system of acts of international law as sourcestax law. On their basis, the domestic legal system is being built.
Tax Code of the Russian Federation
Having de alt with the main international sources of tax law, it is required to pay attention to the main domestic act - the Russian Tax Code. The law defines the legal framework for regulating all stages of tax relations.
Here's what he fixes:
- Exhaustive list of fees and taxes that are levied on Russian territory. Principles for the establishment, introduction and termination of certain types and forms of fees in the regions of the Russian Federation.
- The basis for the emergence, change and termination of tax obligations.
- The procedure for the implementation of tax control, types of tax audits, the duration of their implementation and frequency, registration of the results of audits.
- Basic provisions on liability for tax crimes.
The Code itself as a source of Russian tax law consists of two parts. General provisions, namely concepts and rules, are established in the first part of the law. The procedure for calculation and payment, as well as the types of tax regimes, are established in the second part of the Code.
Tax law system
Financial law includes many branches, one of which is called tax law. This is an independent legal system, consisting of successively located and interconnected norms and rules. The system is united by common goals, objectives, principles and methods. Its constructiondue not only to the structure of tax legislation, but also to the needs of economic practice.
Tax law is a combination of rules formed and protected by the state. At the same time, all norms are coordinated and interconnected, which is why an integral system with a specific internal content is formed.
The system of tax law has such features as unity, interaction, difference and ability to divide, procedural implementation, objectivity and material conditionality.
Tax law is divided into two parts - basic and special. The general part contains norms that establish the basic principles, legal forms and methods of regulating tax relations.
The norms of the special part regulate in detail certain types of taxes and fees, the procedure for their calculation and payment. Special tax regimes are also distinguished here - specific industries in which taxation operates.
Tax law in the domestic legal system
For a better understanding of exactly what role tax law plays in the Russian legal system, it is necessary to pay attention to its relationship with other legal areas.
Sources of Russian tax law are based on constitutional rules and principles. This indicates a direct relationship between the financial and constitutional systems. The norms of the Constitution establish the universal obligation to pay legally established fees and taxes (Article 57). Here it is provideda special system of guarantees that provide a compromise between the observance of the rights of taxpayers and fiscal public interests.
The main source of tax law, the Tax Code, is the basic act in the system of the financial legal system. The relationship between tax and financial law is also evidenced by the incomplete coincidence of the boundaries of the legal regulation of both legal systems. Fiscal policy is a part of financial policy, which has priority over the first one.
Tax law is closely related to the civil system of relations. It is obvious that any taxes are established on private property or related phenomena. Any property is subject to civil law regulation.
Finally, the considered branch of law is connected with the criminal and administrative legal branches. This is evidenced by the imperative component of tax law. For refusal to fulfill the duties of a taxpayer, a citizen may be held liable - administrative or criminal.
What is a tax?
Having de alt with the structure, concept and system of sources of tax law of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to characterize the main element of the considered legal branch - tax. A tax is a generally obligatory, individually gratuitous payment. It is charged to an organization or citizens in order to provide economic support for the activities of the state.
Sources of tax law of the Russian Federationfix four main features of any tax. Each of them is given a characteristic.
The first feature is called mandatory. Paying tax is a constitutional obligation, not a gesture of charity. The taxpayer is not able to refuse to fulfill his obligations.
The individual-gratuitous nature is the second feature. The state is not obliged to take reciprocal actions in favor of taxpayers. It only accumulates the received finances and uses them for the benefit of the population.
The third sign is the monetary character. All types of sources of tax law testify to the need to pay taxes in cash, and not in kind.
The last sign is called public non-target. The tax payment is an unconditional attribute of the state, without which it will simply disappear. It is fees and taxes that form the vast majority of the revenue sources of power.
Tax procedure
The fee levied by the central or regional authorities from individuals and legal entities is called taxation. How to interpret this concept?
The sources of the tax law of the Russian Federation speak of five functions of the presented procedure:
- fiscal function - associated with the collection and accumulation of received finances;
- distributive - the government transfers finances to various authorities and public spheres;
- regulating - the state manages taxation;
- control - power takesmeasures to protect the existing financial order;
- stimulating - tax policy is optimized due to external economic factors enshrined in the sources of tax law.
The concept and types of taxation are also enshrined in law. Thus, the form of the procedure under consideration depends on its elements: the tax base, the period, the rate, the procedure for calculating and paying tax, as well as the payment period. So, taxation can be indirect and direct, income and sectoral.
Principles of taxation
To determine the principles of taxation, one should refer to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation - the main source of tax law. The concept of taxation, according to Article 16 of the Law, is based on the following principles:
- unity of the system of fees and taxes;
- certainty and stability of the system;
- three-level formation of the Russian tax system (we are talking about federal and regional authorities, as well as local self-government).
The legislation does not enshrine such principles as the effectiveness of the neutrality of fees, mobility and elasticity, the optimality of the system and the parity (harmonization) of the interests of the state and taxpayers.
Legislative specification of the principles is aimed at promoting their widespread application in practice.
