Taxes are mandatory regular contributions to the budget, which are paid by both entrepreneurs - legal entities and citizens who are individuals. Taxes constitute a significant part of the state's revenues and are directed by them for purposes that ensure its economic and financial activities.
What are taxes
The definition of this concept is set out in the main document on which tax law is based - the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The Tax Code of the Russian Federation defines tax as a mandatory individual gratuitous payment levied in the form of funds alienated from enterprises and individuals. A tax is an amount of money paid to the state in order to ensure its functioning.
Since in the Russian Federation the state executive power is subdivided into three levels: federal, federal subject and local, for the provision and functioning of all these levels, each of them has its own budget. Therefore, those taxes that are collected from organizations and citizens are sent to three budgets: federal, regional and local.
Types of taxes
There are taxes that are only federal, regional and local, such taxes are transferred in full to the respective budgets. But there are also the so-called regulated taxes, which are divided in a certain percentage between two or between all three levels of budgets. The percentage paid to each level is subject to change and is set anew each time a new state budget is adopted.
The recipient of taxes at all levels is the Federal Treasury, whose functions include the distribution of all incoming taxes in accordance with the budget classification in three levels of the budget. After the distribution is completed, the Treasury generates payment orders to the corresponding budgets and on the same day they are replenished from tax revenues. Thanks to this, the executive branch can fulfill its social and financial obligations, paying, for example, wages to public sector employees.
Taxes are also direct and indirect. Direct taxes are paid to the budgets directly, while indirect taxes come in the form of the additional cost of purchased goods. These taxes include VAT - value added tax or excise taxes. It is believed that they are paid by entrepreneurs, but entrepreneurs, in order to compensate for these payments, increase the price by adding them to the value of their goods or services, so it turns out that the consumer who purchases these goods and services is actually paying indirect taxes.
