Translated material
Terminal method
Taxes in Russia may be allowed to be paid via machines
The Federal Tax Service (FTS) is considering the possibility of allowing Russians to pay taxes through payment terminals. This was announced yesterday by the deputy head of the Main Research Computing Center (GNIVC) of the Federal Tax Service, Yuri Volkov. The proposal to pay taxes "on the street" looks set to become one of the most revolutionary innovations in the field of tax administration. Most non-payers of income, transport and property taxes do not pay not because they do not want to, but because they constantly put off standing in tiresome queues at Sberbank “for later”.The installation of payment terminals for paying taxes in banks and post offices is being tested as a pilot project in Tatarstan. The terminals are similar to those through which communication services are paid today. If the experiment is successful, the Federal Tax Service intends to extend the experience of installing payment terminals throughout Russia. “People will not stand in queues with payment documents, but will pay tax notices through the terminal and leave,” explained Yuri Volkov.
So far, the automatic system for accepting tax payments has one technical drawback: the terminals cannot issue change, crediting the entire payment amount to the account at once. Even if we are talking about two rubles, which a citizen is ready to sacrifice in exchange for the convenience of not standing in line, this money will seriously complicate the life of the fiscal authorities. After all, the taxpayer will have to take this amount into account against his future payments, which entails the need for additional recalculations.
A separate issue is the cost of equipping post offices and bank offices throughout the country with tax terminals. The Federal Tax Service has not yet reported what the approximate price of the issue will be. The Federal Tax Service believes that it is advisable to install terminals only in large cities, and not in all populated areas. Where there are many taxpayers, automatic devices for receiving tax payments can significantly increase tax collection. Not to mention the fact that using terminals can radically reduce the number of delinquencies. If tax can be paid through a machine as simply as, for example, a mobile phone bill, bypassing queues at banks, there will be significantly fewer “forgetful” taxpayers.
If businesses file their taxes evenly throughout the year, individuals typically storm the banks with tax bills in hand only a few times a year. Each region has its own deadlines for paying transport, land and property taxes. But exactly when the hour “X” arrives, the attempt to pay taxes on a massive scale turns into massive evasion.
At the same time, the Federal Tax Service enters a two-dimensional barcode for all declarations submitted by citizens. This allows you to track tax payments and create lists of non-payers almost online. Thanks to the barcode, the bank personalizes the payment immediately after paying the tax, so there is no need to post payment types manually. So literally on the second day the taxpayer can go and get the certificate he needs about the absence of debt. Such a certificate is especially relevant when selling apartments or land plots. Payments for these taxes, as a rule, are overdue for most citizens, but even after depositing the required amount into the treasury, it is sometimes possible to receive the coveted certificate only after a week.