| Innovations 2004 changed one collection for another As has become an annual tradition, new tax rules came into force with the onset of January. As in previous years, the current changes cannot be called unambiguously reducing the tax burden. For both businesses and ordinary citizens, reductions in some taxes will ultimately be offset by increases in others.
Reducing taxes will have a very indirect (and therefore not very noticeable) effect on the incomes of ordinary Russians. Social deductions have increased (the amount by which the amount of income tax can be reduced), which can be used by anyone who buys real estate or pays for education or treatment if desired. If earlier when buying an apartment you could get a tax deduction of only 600 thousand rubles, now this amount has been increased to 1 million. Thus, when buying an apartment you can now claim a refund of up to 130 thousand rubles from taxes paid.
Deduction for treatment and training from 25 thousand rubles. increased to 38 thousand rubles. The maximum that a person can get back is 4 thousand rubles.
True, having won on deductions, you can now lose on the actual ownership of real estate. The property tax reform planned for this year by the government will force citizens to pay several times more for the right to own their own property than today. The tax rate on property of individuals, inheritance and gift is expected to be reduced, but the tax will be calculated based on the market price of real estate, and not its value according to the BTI.
In addition, the 13 percent income tax slab appears to be reaching its final year as well. Discussions about its differentiation and increasing rates for wealthy segments of the population have been going on since the middle of last year, and, apparently, as soon as the political situation allows it, the government will submit a corresponding bill to the Duma.
The most significant events of the coming year are the abolition of sales tax and the reduction of VAT. As for the sales tax, the promised five percent reduction in prices from January 1 did not happen. Most owners of large retail chains did not succumb to the persuasion of the government and Deputy Prime Minister Kudrin personally to set an example for others and change their price tags. Almost everyone preferred to receive 5% additional profit.
The results of the VAT reform will be visible only by the end of the first quarter, when the government will finally decide on the introduction of VAT accounts. True, from a business point of view, freezing working capital in special accounts will nullify the entire positive effect of the rate reduction.
The tax on gambling establishments has increased significantly since the New Year. The new chapter of the Tax Code increased this tax fivefold. Moreover, regional authorities, unlike in previous years, now set on their territory the maximum tax rates recommended by the federal center.
Not only gambling establishments, but also religious establishments were unlucky this year. Amendments to the Tax Code deprive all religious denominations of the right to free ownership of property, with the exception of those directly related to church rites. Until now, religious organizations were almost not subject to taxes. They were even exempt from sales tax, since the sale of religious objects is not called the sale of products, but a donation. Now, as representatives of confessions assure, religious organizations will be forced to curtail social programs. Although the tax is very light, a maximum of 2.2%, with the prospect of reduction by local authorities.
The most scandalous tax innovation - the early abolition of investment incentives for income tax in offshore zones - may yet come back to haunt the Constitutional Court. At one time, amendments to the Tax Code made it possible to use investment benefits in Kalmykia, Mordovia and Chukotka not until January 1, but until July 1, 2004, and in the eyes of many lawyers, the law on early cancellation of benefits adopted in the wake of the fight against oligarchs can be challenged as unconstitutional .
The only thing that can definitely please us in the changed tax legislation is the list of canceled local taxes and fees. Among them are a fee for parking vehicles, a fee for dog owners, a fee for participation in races at the hippodrome, a fee for issuing a warrant for an apartment, a fee for the right to conduct film and television filming, targeted fees for the maintenance of the police, a tax on the resale of cars and other very exotic extortions. Irina SKLYAROVA |
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