Translated material
Sloping Mountain
More and more Russians do not want to share what they earn with the state
The share of Russians who believe that taxes must be paid has decreased sharply. At the same time, the share of those who are ready to avoid paying taxes at any opportunity also remains at a very low level. Experts suggest that while there is a general willingness to pay taxes among citizens, dissatisfaction is growing not so much with the existing tax system as with the use of collected funds by the state.Almost a third of Russians share the view that it is not necessary to pay taxes to the state and, if possible, you can avoid having to share money with the state. At the same time, 5% completely agree with this statement, another 25% are rather inclined to support it. These are the results of a fresh survey released yesterday by the Levada Center of 1,600 Russians in 128 settlements in 44 regions of the country (the statistical error of the research does not exceed 3.4%).
It is interesting that the share of convinced opponents of taxes has not changed in any way due to the crisis (the same 5% were recorded according to the 2006 survey) and remains the lowest for the entire period of similar studies since 1998, having decreased by half compared to the maximum values of pre-default times, as well as 2002 (then the current flat income tax rate of 13% was in effect for the second year). The small number of categorical opponents of sharing what they earn with the authorities indicates a high level of fundamental loyalty of Russians to the state. But the dynamics of the results for the remaining answer options proves the increasing readiness of citizens to justify tax evasion.
The share of those who are inclined to agree with the opinion that it is not necessary to pay taxes to the state has become unprecedentedly high - a quarter of the population thinks so, whereas previously this figure had never risen above 20% (data from the same 2002).
Those who rather disagree with tax nihilism, but still have some doubts on this score, also became slightly larger - 37% (these are those who “rather disagree” with the opinion that taxes can be evaded). And this is also the highest figure for the entire period of research.
The share of those who have doubts to varying degrees has increased due to convinced supporters of paying taxes. This year there are only 23% left. This is the lowest level since 1998. Compared to the 2006 survey, this figure decreased by nine percentage points. The share of loyal taxpayers reached its maximum in the post-default year of 1999 - then 42% of respondents were categorically against ignoring the obligation to pay taxes.
The Levada Center commentary notes that Russians aged 25-39 do not see anything particularly reprehensible in the practice of tax evasion (6% “strongly agree”, 29% “rather agree” that it is possible not to pay taxes to the state), with a secondary specialized education (8% “strongly agree”, 27% “rather agree”), with an average consumer status - enough money for food and clothing (5% “strongly agree”, 28% “rather agree” agree"), as well as residents of large cities, Moscow in the first place (5% “strongly agree”, 33% “rather agree”). That is, precisely those who are the main taxpayers.
Those whose lives largely depend on state social assistance are in favor of paying taxes in full. To one degree or another, those who disagree with the idea that it is worth avoiding paying taxes are mainly representatives of the older generation - those aged 55 and older (40% “rather disagree” and 26% “completely disagree”), with higher education and education below average (41% “rather disagree” and 22% “completely disagree”), low consumer status - not enough money even for food (41% “rather disagree” and 27% “completely disagree”) , as well as residents of cities with a population of 100 to 500 thousand people (39% “rather disagree” and 30% “completely disagree”).
“The group of 25-39 years old is a generation, in my opinion, caught in the thick of history, when everything old is bad a priori, and the new is incomprehensible and undefined. Therefore, this group is usually in the camp of nihilists, and their position of “not paying taxes” is not surprising,” says Elena Yuzhakova, deputy general director of the audit company MKPTSN. She believes that as they age, the position of this group of people will change. “The people who don’t want to pay taxes the most are those who earn more than others, but do not yet take advantage of basic social benefits (pensions), concludes Eduard Savulyak, director of the Moscow office of Tax Consulting UK.
“This study quite characteristically shows the mood of the population in an environment of economic crisis,” says Andrey Prikhodko, head of the tax and financial consulting department of AKG Intercom-Audit. “At the same time, as a rule, the proportion of people who want to save on taxes increases, as well as those who, in certain circumstances, will simply be forced to do this.”
It is impossible to unambiguously assess the impact of the crisis on the attitude of Russians towards paying taxes, believes Levada Center sociologist Denis Volkov. Such a survey was conducted for the first time after a four-year break. Using the results of other surveys as an explanation, Mr. Volkov puts forward the version that citizens are increasingly dissatisfied with the way the taxes collected from them by the state are being used. Thus, only 12% of the population believes that the state is accountable to them and they have some opportunity to influence the government. “Perhaps this means that people do not feel the connection between their taxes and effective government management,” the sociologist suggests.