The issue of the compulsory payment of taxes for individuals, individual entrepreneurs and organizations is one of the most urgent in the aspect of commercial activity. Therefore, every citizen of our country should know thematic legal norms. After all, ignorance in this matter will in no way become the reason for exemption from the inevitability of punishment.
The main motivational principle of taxpayers in our country is their inevitable responsibility for the timely payment of taxes. And the severity of punishment for non-payment or late payment of taxes depends on many factors, among which the period of delay in payment, the amount of non-payment and the category of the taxpayer are of decisive importance.
The most common form of liability for late payment of taxes is a penalty. This monetary penalty is charged immediately from the moment the delay occurs, that is, on the next day after the deadline for payment of tax. This punitive measure is directly related to all categories of taxpayers.
Individuals
Due to the fact that legal norms in our country are applied to taxpayers depending on their belonging to one category or another, then in order to consider issues of liability for delay or non-payment of taxes, you should clearly understand this aspect. The first group of taxpayers includes individuals. And they are fully affected by such types of taxation as income, transport, property and land taxes.
In accordance with the legal norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, liability in the form of the prescribed penalties begins from the moment the debt is formed and is divided into the following types.
Penalty. The obligation to pay the penalty indicates that this financial liability implies an additional amount of payment added to the main part of the resulting debt. The amount of interest increases every day of delay, so this stimulator of financial discipline is quite effective.
Fines (in the prescribed amount). This measure of responsibility is quite unique for world practice and applies mainly to our country. These fines are purely individual in nature. However, they have clear restrictions in the form of a fine ranging from one hundred to three hundred thousand rubles, or earnings for a period of time from twelve to twenty-four months. The specific amount of the fine is set in court.
Forced labor. This type of punishment provides for a maximum period of application, which cannot exceed twelve months.
Deprivation of liberty. This is the most extreme measure of responsibility for tax evasion. It provides for a sentence of six to twelve months (arrest for six months).
The above penalties apply to individuals for non-payment (late payment) of taxes provided for by Russian law. In addition, this fully applies to them in cases of non-provision of tax reports or giving deliberately false information.
Individual entrepreneurs and organizations
Despite the apparent identity of the measures of responsibility for non-payment (late payment) of individual entrepreneurs and organizations with individuals, there is still a difference between them. In addition, the consequences of punishment for the first category of taxpayers may be the termination of commercial activities.
According to the provision of Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, tax evasion by individual entrepreneurs and commercial enterprises provides for the following types of punishment.
Penalty. The procedure for accrual and collection is the same as for individuals.
Fine. The amount is from one hundred to three hundred thousand rubles. Or profit retention for a period of commercial activity up to two years.
Forced labor. The organization is deprived of the right to engage in specialized activities specified in the registration documents. And first of all, responsibility concerns the violator in the form, as a rule, of the head of the enterprise. In this case, the maximum duration of the punishment is two years for the offender's work. And in terms of limiting activities, this period has been increased to three years.
Arrest. The term is six months.
Imprisonment. In this case, the terms of punishment are similar to forced labor. And the usual practice of applying this norm is associated with the limitation of the activities of the organization.
Special cases
Regulatory norms in terms of punishment for non-payment of taxes in our country also provide for special cases when various categories of taxpayers are liable in the form of exceptional measures.
So, for individuals in case of tax evasion on an especially large scale, a fine of two hundred thousand to half a million rubles is applied. And as an alternative measure of punishment, payment of compensation to the state in the form of the profit of a particular person received during the period of his thematic activity from one and a half to three years can be applied.
And in the part concerning forced labor in case of tax evasion on an especially large scale, individuals can be held liable for a period of time up to thirty-six months.
The same amount of time can be spent in custody. By the way, arrest in this case is completely ruled out. These legal norms are provided for in Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
In cases of non-payment of taxes by entrepreneurs and organizations on an especially large scale or by prior agreement, the measures of responsibility, as well as for individuals, are stiffer.
Fines provide for payments in the amount of up to five hundred thousand rubles, and monetary compensation in the form of withholding the income of the enterprise can be extended for a period of up to thirty-six months.
Forced labor in this case is already limited to a period of up to five years. And regarding the entrepreneur or the head of the enterprise, the norms of responsibility can be applied in the form of deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in specific activities. This punishment carries a term of up to three years.
Imprisonment is accompanied by a ban on activities. Here we are already talking about a period of up to thirty-six months.
Disclaimer
Despite the rather strict legal norms in our country regarding measures of liability for non-payment of taxes, there are still some cases when individuals, entrepreneurs and enterprises can avoid the prescribed punishments. This applies to situations in which the taxpayer, without using coercive measures, has independently paid the overdue debt, taking into account the accrued interest. Such loyalty to the legislature in our country applies only to those cases when this tax violation was committed for the first time.
It is important to understand that the tax liability of the citizens of our country is not an exclusively punitive measure of the state. In this context, the practice of life is mainly focused on the minimum level of responsibility. Indeed, in the overwhelming majority of cases, tax violations are compensated only by the payment of a penalty. And the criminal law is used responsibly quite rarely, which eloquently testifies to the loyalty of the state in this aspect of its activities.
Since 2017, new legal norms have been in force in our country aimed at regulating the payment of property, transport and land taxes by citizens. According to them, the amount of penalties for late payment is 20% of the amount of this tax.
