Means a tax levied at a flat rate on any level of income - a flat rate income tax. This system of taxation is often discussed as an alternative to progressive taxation.
A progressive taxation scale is a taxation system based on the principle of increasing tax rates depending on the growth of the level of taxable income of the taxpayer.

Flat-rate proponents argue that if people can keep most of their higher income, then they have more incentive to work; thus stimulating economic growth.

Income tax was introduced in 1842 in Great Britain, in 1887 in Japan, in 1891 in Germany, in 1913 in the USA, in 1914 in France, in Russia in January 1917. In the USSR, it was introduced by a decree of November 16, 1922 under the general name of income and property tax, which in 1924 was transformed into income tax.

Among states that are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) or are negotiating accession, a flat tax scale is in place in Hungary and the Baltic countries. Slovakia also had a flat rate, but introduced a progressive tax from 2013. This system of taxation is used mainly in the poor countries of Europe and the former Soviet republics, as well as in some developing countries.

A flat income tax rate exists in Albania, Bulgaria, Guernsey and Jersey (Channel Islands), Hong Kong, Georgia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Estonia.

A flat income tax rate has also been introduced in large countries where the subjects of the federation are given budgetary freedom at the regional level, for example, in the Canadian province of Alberta, as well as in individual US states: Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

In France, an extremely progressive scale has been introduced. People with low incomes are exempt from the tax at all. Annual incomes within the limits of 5963 euros are taxed at a rate of 0%; annual income from 5963 euros to 11896 euros - at a rate of 5.5%; annual income in the part from 11,897 euros to 26,420 euros - at a rate of 14%; income in the part from 26,421 euros to 70,830 euros - at a rate of 30%; from 70,831 to 150,000 euros - at a rate of 41%; from 150,001 to 1,000,000 euros - at a rate of 45%.

In the midst of France's presidential election campaign, Socialist leader François Hollande will raise the income tax rate from 2013 to 75% for citizens earning more than a million euros a year. The new taxation norms were included in the 2013 budget.

Hollande's project provoked a real "exodus" of wealthy people from France. Among the "tax fugitives" was the actor Gerard Depardieu, who announced his move to Belgium and his intention to surrender his French passport.

Also valid in Germany. The tax-free minimum income per person is 8.13 thousand euros per year. The starting income tax rate is 14%. For taxpayers with an annual income of more than 52.88 thousand euros, the rate is 42%. Income over 250.7 thousand euros is taxed at a maximum rate of 45%.

Income tax in the UK is progressive. Since 2012, the ceiling on tax-free annual income has increased from 8.1 thousand to 9.2 thousand pounds. The marginal income tax rate for those earning over £150,000 a year has been cut from 50% to 45%. The UK has one of the highest marginal income tax rates of any developed country. It is second only to Israel (57%), Sweden (56.6%), Belgium (53.7%), Denmark (52.2%), the Netherlands (52%) and France (75%).

The US tax system is very complex and varied. Under American law, not only the federal government, but also state and territory governments, as well as local governments in cities, counties, and so on, have the right to set their own taxes.

Income tax in the United States is progressive, levied either on the individual taxpayer or on the family (spouses filing jointly). Bid federal tax ranges from 10% to 35% depending on the level of income.

China has a progressive income tax system. individuals. With income growth, rates change from 5% to 45%, while income of no more than 3.5 thousand yuan per month for residents of yuan per month for non-residents is not taxed. When hiring Chinese employees, the company is also obliged to pay social payments for them, the amount of which is about 40% of the officially accrued wages.

Depending on the amount of income in relation to the wages of an individual, a progressive scale of rates has been established in the amount of 3% (with income below 1.5 thousand yuan) to 45% (over 80 thousand yuan). Income from other activities is taxed at a rate of 5% - 35%. The standard tax rate on interest and royalties is 20%.

In the Russian Federation since 2001, income tax in the amount of 13%, while for income not related to the performance of work and services by taxpayers, the increased tax rate is 35%. Nevertheless, the topic of introducing a progressive income tax scale in the Russian Federation is periodically discussed at different levels.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Means a tax levied at a flat rate on any level of income - a flat income tax rate. This system of taxation is often discussed as an alternative to progressive taxation.
A progressive taxation scale is a taxation system based on the principle of increasing tax rates depending on the growth of the level of taxable income of the taxpayer.

Flat-rate proponents argue that if people can keep most of their higher income, then they have more incentive to work; thus stimulating economic growth.

Income tax was introduced in 1842 in Great Britain, in 1887 in Japan, in 1891 in Germany, in 1913 in the USA, in 1914 in France, in Russia in January 1917. In the USSR, it was introduced by a decree of November 16, 1922 under the general name of income and property tax, which in 1924 was transformed into income tax.

Among states that are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) or are negotiating accession, a flat tax scale is in place in Hungary and the Baltic countries. Slovakia also had a flat rate, but introduced a progressive tax from 2013. This system of taxation is used mainly in the poor countries of Europe and the former Soviet republics, as well as in some developing countries.

A flat income tax rate exists in Albania, Bulgaria, Guernsey and Jersey (Channel Islands), Hong Kong, Georgia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Estonia.

A flat income tax rate has also been introduced in large countries where the subjects of the federation are given budgetary freedom at the regional level, for example, in the Canadian province of Alberta, as well as in individual US states: Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

In France, an extremely progressive scale has been introduced. People with low incomes are exempt from the tax at all. Annual incomes within the limits of 5963 euros are taxed at a rate of 0%; annual income from 5963 euros to 11896 euros - at a rate of 5.5%; annual income in the part from 11,897 euros to 26,420 euros - at a rate of 14%; income in the part from 26,421 euros to 70,830 euros - at a rate of 30%; from 70,831 to 150,000 euros - at a rate of 41%; from 150,001 to 1,000,000 euros - at a rate of 45%.

In the midst of France's presidential election campaign, Socialist leader François Hollande will raise the income tax rate from 2013 to 75% for citizens earning more than a million euros a year. The new taxation norms were included in the 2013 budget.

Hollande's project provoked a real "exodus" of wealthy people from France. Among the "tax fugitives" was the actor Gerard Depardieu, who announced his move to Belgium and his intention to surrender his French passport.

Also valid in Germany. The tax-free minimum income per person is 8.13 thousand euros per year. The starting income tax rate is 14%. For taxpayers with an annual income of more than 52.88 thousand euros, the rate is 42%. Income over 250.7 thousand euros is taxed at a maximum rate of 45%.

Income tax in the UK is progressive. Since 2012, the ceiling on tax-free annual income has increased from 8.1 thousand to 9.2 thousand pounds. The marginal income tax rate for those earning over £150,000 a year has been cut from 50% to 45%. The UK has one of the highest marginal income tax rates of any developed country. It is second only to Israel (57%), Sweden (56.6%), Belgium (53.7%), Denmark (52.2%), the Netherlands (52%) and France (75%).

The US tax system is very complex and varied. Under American law, not only the federal government, but also state and territory governments, as well as local governments in cities, counties, and so on, have the right to set their own taxes.

Income tax in the United States is progressive, levied either on the individual taxpayer or on the family (spouses filing jointly). The federal tax rate ranges from 10% to 35% depending on income level.

China has a progressive scale of personal income taxation. With income growth, rates change from 5% to 45%, while income of no more than 3.5 thousand yuan per month for residents of yuan per month for non-residents is not taxed. When hiring Chinese employees, the company is also obliged to pay social payments for them, the amount of which is about 40% of the officially accrued wages.

Depending on the amount of income in relation to the wages of an individual, a progressive scale of rates has been established in the amount of 3% (with income below 1.5 thousand yuan) to 45% (over 80 thousand yuan). Income from other activities is taxed at a rate of 5% - 35%. The standard tax rate on interest and royalties is 20%.

In the Russian Federation since 2001, income tax in the amount of 13%, while for income not related to the performance of work and services by taxpayers, the increased tax rate is 35%. Nevertheless, the topic of introducing a progressive income tax scale in the Russian Federation is periodically discussed at different levels.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

What do they mean when they talk about a progressive tax system? In rare cases, it refers to an advanced taxation system adopted in a particular country or proposed for introduction, which can be considered as a model for the further development of tax systems. As a rule, however, a progressive system involves only a special procedure for calculating taxes and fees, namely, an increase in the tax burden as the taxable base increases.

The progressive tax rate is...

Progressive taxation is based on the principle that the higher the taxable income, the higher the rate it should be taxed.

Accordingly, a progressive tax rate is a tax rate that increases as the taxable base increases.

For example, before entering into force on 01/01/2001 Ch. 23 “Tax on income of individuals” of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the issues of calculating and paying tax on the income of individuals were regulated by the Law of the Russian Federation dated 07.12.1991 No. 1998-1 “On income tax from individuals”. The said Law provided withholding personal income tax using a progressive rate. Yes, Art. 6 of the last effective version of the said Law provided for the following personal income tax rates:

Progressive taxation in Russia

In Russia, the question of returning to a progressive taxation scale for individual incomes periodically arises. The need to introduce a progressive rate is explained by the need to replenish the revenue side of the budget. Opponents talk about the risk of income going “into the shadows”.

In any case, main directions tax policy The Russian Federation for 2016 and the planning period of 2017 and 2018 do not provide for the introduction in the near future of a progressive tax rate for the income of individuals (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of January 25, 2016 No. 03-04-05 / 2540).

Elements of progressive taxation can be seen, for example, in transport tax, according to which the tax rate increases as the physical indicator of the object of taxation increases (for example, as the engine power increases). But it is not progressive taxation in its purest form. The progressive rate should provide for an increase in the tax burden with the growth of indicators in relation to the same object.

In general, progressive taxation in the Russian Federation is not applied. And for certain types of mandatory payments to the budget, even regressive rates are seen. For example, insurance premiums for mandatory pension insurance in 2017, in the general case, are calculated at a rate of 22%, and from the amount of taxable payments that exceeds 876,000 rubles, insurance premiums are already calculated at a rate of 10% (

The authorities have repeatedly proposed to introduce a progressive personal income tax scale. However, not a single bill has passed through the State Duma. And so, on March 17, another similar document was submitted.

In February, the State Duma rejected a bill on a progressive scale of personal income tax. Recall that the document kept the rate of 13 percent for profits up to 5 million rubles. But for large amounts, a progressive scale was provided: from 18 to 28 percent. And now, just a month later, another bill on the same topic was submitted to the Parliament. It provides for three rates - 13, 30 and 50 percent.

Hold your pocket wider

The bill extends a 13 percent personal income tax rate for incomes up to 400,000 rubles per month. With excess of this amount of earnings, you will have to pay already 30 percent. A with monthly income more than 1 million rubles - 50 percent.

“The bill introduced on March 17, 2015, in general, can be called the next in a series of similar ones. Indeed, the progressive scale of personal income taxation looks more fair. But we must not forget about the realities of our life,” notes Maxim Gladkikh-Rodionov, CEO auditing company "Confidence". He believes that the an excessive burden on the wage fund (contributions) in our country already leads to shadow employment and other consequences that are not very pleasant for society and the state. Of course, the authors of the bill suggest an increase in the rate only for those whose income exceeds 400,000 rubles a month. However, as follows from explanatory note, there are almost 26.5 million such citizens in Russia. This is a lot. “The desire of deputies to help fill the budget is understandable. But such a sharp increase in rates, as can be assumed, will cause attempts to divert part of the income "into the shadows," continues Mr. Gladkikh-Rodionov.

Most of the experts interviewed by "Calculation" named the return to "envelope" salaries as one of the main disadvantages of the transition to a progressive personal income tax scale. “If these changes in the Tax Code are nevertheless adopted, we will very quickly see a revival of “envelope” salaries, and as a result, the budget will receive significantly less than what it would have received under the previously existing personal income tax rates,” notes Ekaterina Boldinova, senior lawyer of the law firm "YUST".

If these changes in the Tax Code are nevertheless adopted, we will very quickly see a revival of “envelope” salaries, and as a result, the budget will receive significantly less than what it would have received under the previously existing personal income tax rates ...

I agree with this conclusion and Valeria Arsenyeva, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Doctor economic sciences, Professor of the Department of Taxation and accounting South Russian Institute of Management Russian Academy National economy and public service under the President of the Russian Federation. She is confident that the innovations will not lead to an increase in budget revenues. "With such tax rates in fact, they will officially pay salaries only budget institutions”, - notes Ms. Arsenyeva. The most effective, in her opinion, from the position of replenishing state revenues: to reduce and simultaneously increase personal income tax; the amount of tax received by the budget should be partly directed to compensate for the losses of off-budget funds from the reduction in insurance premiums. “When planning changes in terms of increasing tax exemptions, one should always keep in mind the Laffer model, according to which the tax exemption threshold is effective up to the level of 35 percent. Then the effect decreases down to 0,” she sums up.

“Obviously, at such rates, there is a sharp increase in the amount of tax at the junction of wage categories. At certain amounts of income, employees with a higher salary will actually receive less,” notes Julia Kulakova, Head of the Customer Support Department of the company "First BIT". In her opinion, if the amendments are adopted, tax revenues to the budget will increase. However, firms may face one difficulty: “If the employer wants to keep the actual income of employees, then he will have to increase the amount of wages. The amount of additional expenses will most likely be attributed to the cost of products / services, which may ultimately affect the buyer,” Ms. Kulakova notes.

PR project

Ariadna Denisova, President of the Association of professionals in the field of personnel motivation and organizational development , notes that the proposed version of the progressive scale is more of a PR initiative than a tool to increase budget revenues. “According to the faction of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which proposed this bill for consideration, the rate increase will only affect those who receive more than 400 thousand rubles a month. A similar level of salary is typical for senior managers of large federal-scale companies (both in the capital and in the regions), as well as for middle-level managers of these organizations in Moscow and St. Petersburg,” notes Ms. Denisova. She recalls that according to Rosstat, the average monthly accrued wages in the country in February 2015 amounted to 30,620 rubles. “Thus, the introduction of a progressive scale will only affect large businesses, which will eventually have to compensate for the loss of part of the income of employees by increasing their wages,” she notes. According to the expert, this, in turn, will hurt the crisis budgets of companies that are already “lined up” for state assistance. As a result, the treasury will not receive additional income, and "the taste of displeasure among the population will remain."

According to Maxim Gladkikh-Rodionov, a fairly large part of the taxpayers who will be affected by the amendments are employees of companies with state participation, that is, they receive income from the budget in one way or another, and their salaries will most likely be indexed if such a law is adopted, which will lead to additional expenses and will reduce the expected effect. “I am sure that the MPs themselves, the authors of the bill, understand this. Otherwise, it would have been more carefully worked out. So, in my opinion, the authors do not count on its adoption,” the expert sums up.

The idea of ​​intensifying the tax burden on those who earn more is supported by many segments of the population, not realizing that richer people, paying the same tax rate as less well-off citizens, pay much more in absolute terms...

I agree that there is no chance that the deputies will adopt this document and Inna Alekseeva, CEO of the PR Partner agency: “It seems to me that now a progressive tax scale will not be accepted, since the country is in crisis, unemployment is growing. And if they accept, then for the SMB sector (medium and small businesses. - Note. ed.) it will mean leaving in black and gray wages, mass transfer of employees to individual entrepreneurs, for large businesses - transfer of business to offshore. According to her, the state, with the help of a progressive scale, solves the problem of replenishing the budget at the expense of entrepreneurs, but it is not certain that this is possible right now.

As the authors of the amendments note, the flat scale that exists in Russia does not meet the needs of economic and social development. However, repeatedly rejecting bills on a progressive tax, the State Duma just referred to what exactly existing order levying a tax contributes to the growth of its collection, and not to abuses of its concealment. If we recall recent history, it shows that the transition to a flat personal income tax scale in 2001 contributed to the fact that business began to “come out of the shadows”. This has been repeatedly reported by officials.

“Given that such a tax scheme existed until 2001 and was replaced by the establishment of a single rate of 13 percent, returning to it again is unlikely to change the situation for the better. For such fundamental changes, a certain base developed by the state is needed (in particular, changes in other branches of law),” notes Anastasia Morgunova, Product Director of My Business. According to her, today the realities of the economic downturn serve as an additional reason for considering such bills. According to Ms. Morgunova, behind the positive aspects of such initiatives in the form of achieving social justice, there are also a lot of negative trends. In addition to the growth of gray wages, the expert also cites the following argument: the uneven filling of territorial budgets, in other words, regions with a high level of income among the population will become even richer.

Poor versus rich

It should be noted that the progressive personal income tax scale operates in more than twenty countries of the world.

Ekaterina Boldinova argues: “The system of progressive taxation in the USA, Germany, France, and most European countries is regulated in great detail. In our country, a progressive tax existed for some time during the Soviet period. Since the early 2000s, the idea of ​​such a system has periodically been discussed by legislators, but usually the proposed projects are more populist in nature.

Director of recruiting agency TEHNOLOGOS Evgeny Chesnokov notes: "As a person with experience in combating major tax crimes, I believe that taxation should certainly be differentiated." Small businesses and middle-income people, he said, should pay less, and owners of luxury real estate and large businesses that control huge financial flows should be socially responsible. "Otherwise, it is fraught with an increase in social tension in society." As an example, the expert names Belgium, where a similar tax reaches almost 54 percent, Austria (up to 50 percent), Germany and Israel (up to 47 percent), China, France and Switzerland (up to 45 percent). “Only everything will be in vain if the implementation of these norms is not controlled. And it is possible to control all this, I can say this as a specialist,” the expert says. According to him, now the state is doing a lot of work to counteract "cashing out", respectively, this already affects gray incomes, and in this vein there is hope that the personal income tax novel will help stabilize the situation in society. “Previously, many bills affecting the interests of the elites were not passed, since our state is just coming out of its formation period, becoming more independent, the influence of the business elites is balanced by a strong bureaucracy and security forces,” sums up Mr. Chesnokov.

Boris Fedosimov, CEO of the People of Dela Holding notes that the progressive scale is formally aimed at increasing the tax burden on those who earn more. “This idea is supported by many segments of the population, not realizing that richer people paying the same tax rate as less wealthy citizens in absolute terms pay much more,” the expert notes. According to him, with the introduction of a progressive scale, higher-paid citizens, being more qualified and educated, will find loopholes to start avoiding increased taxation - up to a complete refusal to receive income in the territory of the Russian Federation. “It would be appropriate to recall Gerard Depardieu, who changed his French citizenship to Russian in order not to pay high income tax rates,” the expert gives an example. Also, according to Mr. Fedosimov, the costs of fiscal administration will increase, as there will be additional motivators, schemes for avoiding payment of dues.

One of the arguments in favor of introducing a progressive personal income tax scale, the project developers saw in helping to reduce social tension. “It seems that most of the population will be perceived positively. It won't relieve tension, but it will divert attention,” concludes Mr. Fedosimov. In addition, it is worth recalling the presidential address to the Federal Assembly of December 4, 2014. In it, the head of state promised not to revise the existing tax rates in the near future. "For investment attractiveness The Russian Federation will be dealt another blow, ”the expert sums up.

And finally, we recall that on March 13, a draft on raising the personal income tax rate to 16 percent was also submitted to the State Duma. At the same time, it became known almost immediately that the Ministry of Finance spoke out against increasing the tax. “Previously they offered 15 percent of personal income tax, now 16. The main thing is that in 2017 they don’t offer 17, ”RBC reports the words of the head of the Department of Tax and Customs Tariff Policy of the Ministry of Finance Ilya Trunin.

Veronika Pozdnyakova , for the magazine "Calculation"

Read about everything useful for the work of an accountant in the professional accounting press!

The concept of progressive taxation

At the present stage of taxation in Russia there is a unified system of tax collection. On the this moment the rate is 13% and it is levied on all citizens of any income level. Modern countries today use progressive taxation, with the help of a gradation of income levels, and on the basis of this they charge personal income tax. In order to determine the essence of a progressive tax, it is necessary to define its concept.

Definition 1

Progressive taxation. Progressive Taxation is a taxation system designed to shift the bulk of the tax burden to high income taxpayers.

This taxation is used in almost all developed countries. However, the vast majority of countries still use fixed rates. The progressive tax scheme is shown in the figure below.

Figure 1. Scheme of a progressive tax. Author24 - online exchange of student papers

Remark 1

In Russia, at the present stage, a flat taxation scale is used. Residents of the country pay 13%, regardless of the level of income and the way it is received.

A single scale exists in the countries of Estonia, Georgia, Ukraine, etc. The progressive scale is used in European countries. One example is France, where there is an extremely progressive scale.

If a citizen has an income below 6,000 euros (which is a low income level), the tax is not charged at all. If the income exceeds 150 thousand or 1 million euros, a rate of 45% is charged. Above this amount, income is taxed at a rate of 75%. However, the authorities did not take into account that instead of covering the budget, these actions led to an outflow of capital from the country.

The rate also fluctuates in the UK from 14-45%. The highest rates were recorded in Sweden - 56.6%, Israel - 57 and the Netherlands - 52%. The developed countries can boast rates for low incomes. For example, in the USA the rate is 10%, and in China 5%.

Pros and cons of progressive taxation

As mentioned above, in Russia they use a flat rate with a rate of 13%. For non-residents, a 35% rate is used. Nevertheless, the issue of introducing a progressive scale has been discussed more and more lately. The pluses include the following:

• replenishment of the budget deficit, however, individual examples with France suggest otherwise,
• stabilization of the regional budget. Recently, most of the taxes that were covered by the local budget began to be deducted in the state budget, which creates a shortage on the ground. A progressive tax would fill this gap.
• social justice course. The single tax rate does not quite suit the population, which, on a level with millionaires, transfers 13% to the budget.

However, in addition to the pros, there are also disadvantages of progressive taxation:

• There will be an enrichment of large regional budgets, while impoverishing remote regions, since taxes are paid at the place of work.
• There will be a return to gray payroll schemes.
• Unemployment will rise against the backdrop of a lack of incentives to work.
• The need for citizens to independently report income with all administrative costs.

Progressive scale in Russia

Based on the possible pros and cons of the progressive scale, the deputies made a proposal:

• Set a rate of 13% for citizens whose income does not exceed 24 million for a period of 12 months.
• If income exceeds this mark, then a rate of 25% must be applied.
• If earnings amounted to 100-200 million per year, the rate should be 35%
• If the income exceeds the level of 200 million, then the rate will be 50%.

Until now, disputes over the introduction of a progressive tax do not stop. The deputies suggest that if this scale is introduced, all the profits of enterprises will be directed to development and modernization. On the other hand, it can lead to the development of a gray economy. In addition, wealthy citizens can register a company where taxation will not force them to give half and profits.

In order to understand whether Russia needs a progressive taxation system, it is necessary to build a scheme for the transition to this system, evaluate all the pros and cons. One side, positive points obvious, on the other hand, they may simply not work in our country.

An analysis of various approaches has shown that today there is a need to develop a general methodology for assessing taxation, which would take into account all the necessary factors that affect the calculation of the level of taxation and the region's need for financial assistance from the higher budget for the implementation of activities aimed at socio-economic development .

At the present stage, the tax system is rapidly developing, there is an optimization of intergovernmental relations. The taxation system is a set of taxes and fees that are levied on taxpayers on the basis of tax code. Necessity and importance tax system stems from the functional tasks of the state.

Remark 2

It should be noted that the effective implementation of the taxation system in the Russian Federation. This is rightfully considered the most important condition for the dynamic development of the Russian economy as a whole. Ensuring the consistent development of taxation contributes to the growth of the financial independence of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which is a necessary condition for the sub-federal authorities to fulfill their functions and tasks to provide the population with the necessary social, cultural, housing and communal services.

When introducing a progressive income tax, it is necessary to carefully calculate the gradation of interest and taxes, so that the middle class - small entrepreneurs and highly qualified specialists - does not suffer.