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The goal of economic activity of any business unit is to maximize profits. Therefore, both companies and entrepreneurs often seek to reduce the tax burden on business. However, under certain circumstances, tax minimization becomes illegal, and as a result, the taxpayer may face serious fines, penalties, and even criminal liability.

In the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated October 12, 2006 No. 53 “On the assessment by arbitration courts of the validity of a taxpayer receiving a tax benefit,” one can find a definition of dangerous ways to optimize (minimize) the tax burden. Tax optimization cannot be considered justified if it was received by the taxpayer outside of connection with the implementation of real business or other economic activity.

Problems will also arise if the tax authority proves that the activities of the taxpayer, his interdependent or affiliated persons are aimed at carrying out transactions related to tax benefits, mainly with counterparties that do not fulfill their tax obligations. In other words, if the taxpayer entered into a number of transactions with enterprises that violated tax laws and did not pay taxes.

It is important! Meanwhile, the taxpayer’s right to minimize the tax burden is also secured by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation) (Resolution No. 9-P dated May 27, 2003 “In the case of verifying the constitutionality of the provisions of Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in connection with complaints from citizens P.N. Beletsky, G. A. Nikova, R. V. Rukavishnikov, V. L. Sokolovsky and N. I. Talanov”). However, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation supports only legal methods, that is, it recommends selecting legal tax benefits, deferments, installment plans, the most profitable forms of entrepreneurial activity, organizational and legal form, taxation regime, etc.

Talking about legal rights taxpayer, let us immediately name the ways of tax optimization permitted by law - tax breaks on various taxes and fees. For example, a zero VAT rate applies to organizations using a simplified taxation system. Enterprises that sell services for the transportation of passengers and luggage also have a 0% VAT rate, provided that the point of departure (destination) of passengers and luggage is located outside the territory of the Russian Federation, when registering transportation on the basis of unified international transportation documents. Or, for example, in 2011, preferential insurance premiums of 14% instead of 34% will be levied on small enterprises, agricultural producers, organizations employing the work of disabled people, IT companies, individual entrepreneurs - residents of the technology-innovation special economic zone and universities (Federal Law dated October 16, 2010 No. 272-FZ “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Insurance Contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, the Federal Mandatory Fund health insurance and territorial funds of compulsory medical insurance" and Article 33 of the Federal Law "On compulsory pension insurance in the Russian Federation."

In addition to direct tax benefits, taxpayers can receive some tax breaks for a certain period (Chapter 9 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

changing the tax payment deadline in the form of a deferment or installment plan;

investment tax credit.

In analysis economic activity For any organization, an important role is played by the assessment of tax liabilities, which makes it possible to determine how burdensome the existing tax system is for an economic entity and what share of resources is attracted by payments to the budget, that is, to determine the tax burden of the enterprise.

Note! The tax burden is the estimated total amount of money to be paid in the form of import customs duties and contributions to state extra-budgetary funds (with the exception of contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation) by an investor implementing an investment project (Federal Law of February 25, 1999 No. 39-FZ “On investment activity in the Russian Federation, carried out in the form of capital investments"; as amended on July 23, 2010).

This definition is used when assessing the tax burden on a specific investment project and has a number of disadvantages:

1) when assessing only quantitative value, absolute value, without taking into account relationships with other indicators of financial and economic activity;

2) contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation are excluded from the calculation, although at the moment they constitute a significant share of the enterprise’s expenses and are the largest payment accrued from the wage fund. Thus, this definition For its full application it needs some clarification and adjustment.

It is important! Organizations must calculate their tax burden to understand the extent to which their activities and payment of taxes attract the attention of tax authorities, who may decide to conduct an on-site tax audit.

Tax burden assessment

There is no single methodology for calculating the tax burden. The tax burden is assessed using various techniques and approaches.

This is interesting! In general, the methods for determining the tax burden of a taxpayer differ in the set of taxes and contributions used. Important role The base indicator also plays a role, to which the calculated indicators can be “linked”, that is, the total amount of taxes for the billing period can be compared with it.

The main source of information when determining the level of tax burden is tax and accounting data. It should be noted that they are based on different regulatory legal frameworks: accounting is carried out in accordance with Federal law dated November 21, 1996 No. 129-FZ “On Accounting” (as amended on September 28, 2010), accounting provisions, methodological instructions, accounting policies; The tax one is based on the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and orders of the Ministry of Finance of Russia and the Federal Tax Service of Russia, explaining certain norms. As a result, discrepancies are possible that result in permanent or deferred tax liabilities and assets.

Reflection of obligations for taxes and fees payable to the budget and extra-budgetary funds occurs in accounts 68 “Calculations for taxes and fees”, 69 “Calculations for social insurance and security”, 19 “Value added tax on acquired assets” (Plan accounting accounts of the financial and economic activities of the organization, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 31, 2000 No. 94n; as amended on November 8, 2010).

The credit of accounts 68 and 69 reflects the amounts of taxes, fees and social contributions accrued by the organization for a certain period. The debit of accounts 68 and 69 will reflect the amounts actually paid for the period, as well as tax deductions that are provided for certain species taxes. The explanations to account 68 indicate that analytical accounting for this account is carried out by type of tax. The final credit balance for these accounts shows the organization’s debt to the budgets different levels and extra-budgetary funds for specific date. This debt is formed at the expense of the enterprise. Registers are used to summarize information tax accounting.

Changes in the tax burden occur under the influence of tax planning methods. We will consider their theoretical connection and influence in the form of specific tax optimization measures (Table 1).

Table 1. Relationship between tax optimization methods and tax risk levels

Optimization method for taxation	Impact on tax burden	Nalo gov risk
Usage nonlinear method depreciation (Article 259 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)	Redistribution over time: decrease in the current period, increase in the future period	Short. Possible unreasonable use of increasing coefficients
Recognition of interest on loans using obligations with comparable conditions (clause 1 of Article 269 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)	Reduction due to reduced income tax	Average. There are problems in clearly defining comparable liabilities
Creation of reserves: for the repair of fixed assets (Articles 260, 324 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), for payment of vacations, payment of annual remuneration for length of service (Articles 255, 324.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)		Average. Possible unreasonable excess of reserves
Relationship replacement method: sale of property through its preliminary contribution to the authorized capital and further sale of this share (subclause 12, clause 2, article 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)	Reducing the tax burden by reducing VAT	Medium or high. Depending on the amount of the transaction, suspicion may arise that the transaction is not economically feasible, and additional VAT may be charged.
Holding method: allocation structural divisions into separate legal entities (one of the options)	The reduction in the tax burden is due to the fact that if newly created enterprises are subject to special tax regimes, it will be possible to reduce the amount of deductions from wages to extra-budgetary funds and reduce the tax base for property tax	Short. There may be problems that traditionally arise in relations with subsidiaries and dependent companies

Methods for calculating and optimizing the tax burden

Calculating the tax burden may have another important goal for the organization - forecasting the tax burden for the future period. For large enterprises, it is important to provide for the tax burden in future periods. It is important to assess how much taxes the organization will have to pay, for example, by expanding its activities.

Additionally, you can calculate the share of taxes in revenue, profit, salary taxes in the payroll fund, etc. All this should help the organization in tax planning of contributions to the budget. At the same time, it is also important to provide for various tax risks that may affect the increase in the tax burden.

Tax authorities calculate the tax burden very simply and on average by dividing all tax deductions by the taxpayer’s revenue. But there are other methods. For example, you can clarify the methodology of the Federal Tax Service of Russia and obtain a more advanced formula:

Tax burden = Amount of taxes paid according to reporting data during the year × 100% / Amount of accounting revenue for the year excluding VAT and excise taxes.

When applying each technique, a lot of controversial issues arise. For example, whether indirect taxes or personal income tax should be included in the tax burden.

Let's try to highlight several interesting techniques.

Method 1. The generally accepted method for determining the tax burden on an organization is the calculation procedure developed by the Russian Ministry of Finance, according to which the level of the tax burden is the ratio of all taxes paid by the organization to revenue, including revenue from other sales:

NN = (NP / (V + VD)) × 100%,

NP - the total amount of all taxes paid;

B — revenue from sales of products (works, services);

ND - non-operating income.

Unfortunately, this calculation does not allow us to determine the impact of changes in the tax structure on the tax burden indicator. The tax burden calculated using this method characterizes only the tax intensity of products (works or services) produced by an economic entity, and does not give a real picture of the tax burden of the taxpayer

Method 2. There is another methodology proposed by E. A. Kirova in the article “Methodology for determining the tax burden on business entities,” according to which:

the amount of taxes paid and payments to extra-budgetary funds increases by the amount of arrears on tax payments. In other words, the tax burden is determined not by the taxes paid by the organization, but by the amount of taxes that must be paid, that is, the amount of accrued payments;

personal income tax is not included in the amount of taxes, since it is paid by the organization’s employees, and the organization itself only transfers payments;

the amount of indirect taxes to be transferred to the budget is included in tax payments when calculating, since they have a significant impact on the financial stability of the organization;

the amount of taxes is correlated with the newly created organization's cost of production, which is defined as the difference between value added and depreciation. According to Kirova, the tax burden is divided into absolute and relative. The absolute tax burden is the sum of tax payments and payments to extra-budgetary funds to be transferred by the organization and is calculated as follows:

ANN = NP + VP + ND,

where ANN is the absolute tax burden;

NP - tax payments paid by the organization;

VP - paid payments to extra-budgetary funds;

ND - arrears in payments.

However, the absolute tax burden reflects only the amount of tax obligations of a business entity and does not take into account the severity of the tax burden. To determine the level of tax burden, Kirova suggests using the relative tax burden indicator, which is calculated as the ratio of the absolute tax burden to the newly created value. In other words, the amount of tax payments is correlated with the sources of their payment.

The newly created value of the organization's products is determined as follows:

VSS = B - MZ - A + VD - VR

VSS = OT + NP + VP + P,

where VSS is the newly created value;

B - revenue from the sale of products, works or services (including VAT);

MZ - material costs;

A - depreciation;

ND - non-operating income;

VR - non-operating expenses (excluding tax payments);

OT - remuneration;

NP - tax payments;

VP - payments to extra-budgetary funds;

P is the organization’s profit.

In this case, the relative tax burden is determined by the following formula:

ONN = (ANN / VSS) × 100%.

As a positive point, the following can be mentioned: the amount of newly created value is not affected by taxes paid. In addition, all tax payments paid directly by the organization are included in the calculation. Moreover, the objectivity of the calculation does not depend on either industry specifics or the size of the company.

However, when using this method, it is not possible to qualitatively predict changes in the indicator depending on changes in the number of taxes, their rates and benefits.

Method 3. Another interesting way to calculate the load is proposed by M. I. Litvin in the article “Tax burden and economic interests of enterprises.” The methodology includes such indicators as the number of tax payments, their structure and collection mechanism. The amount of tax payments includes all taxes paid by the organization, taking into account personal income tax.

NN = ( SUM(NP + VP) / SUM IS) × 100%,

Where SUM(NP + VP) - the amount of accrued tax payments and payments to extra-budgetary funds;

SUM IP is the amount of the source of funds for paying taxes.

Litvin proposes to calculate the tax burden for the above groups of taxes in relation to the corresponding source of payment. The common indicator for all taxes is value added (VA), which is calculated as follows:

DS = V - MZ

DS = OT + NP + VP + P + A.

This method of calculating the tax burden has practical significance, since it allows you to determine the share of taxes in the organization’s revenue, profit and wages, depreciation, taxes and net profit in each ruble of created products. The negative point is that personal income tax is included in the taxes, although the organization acts as a tax agent.

There are also more complex methods, but, in the author’s opinion, the load should be calculated first of all as advised by the tax authorities, and only then for the purposes of, for example, internal audit take into account more detailed indicators.

Method 4. The following methodology allows us to determine the tax burden as a function of the type of production, changing depending on fluctuations in the costs of material resources, labor or depreciation. The tax burden is defined as the share of added value transferred to the state, and taxes are related to the source of their payment. The added value is calculated using the following formula:

DS = A + (OT + SV) + VAT + P,

where DS is added value;

A - depreciation;

OT - remuneration;

SV - insurance premiums;

VAT - value added tax;

P - profit.

Revenue is determined as the sum of added value and material costs according to the formula:

B = DS + MZ.

This technique involves the use of the following structural coefficients:

— the share of wages in added value (including wage charges), calculated according to the formula:

To from = (OT + insurance premiums) / DS;

— specific gravity depreciation in added value, calculated using the formula:

K a = A / DS;

— the share of added value in gross revenue, calculated by the formula:

K o = DS / V.

According to the current taxation system, an organization pays the following main taxes:

— VAT (calculated at the rate of 18%):

VAT = (DS / 118%) × 18% = 0.153DS;

— insurance premiums:

Insurance premiums = (DS / 134%) × 34% × K from = 0.254DS × K from;

— personal income tax:

Personal income tax = 0.13 × (1 - (0.356 / 1.356)) × K from × DS = 0.096DS × K from;

- income tax:

N pr = 0.20 × (1 - VAT - K from - K a) × DS = 0.20DS × (0.847 - K from - K a).

The amount of basic taxes paid by an organization allows us to determine the tax burden as the share of added value spent by the organization on tax payments, using the formula:

NN = VAT + Insurance premiums + Np + Npr.

Thus, according to this method, the amount of taxes is correlated with added value, that is, with the source of income, but the calculation includes personal income tax and does not take into account the impact of property tax and user fees natural resources, land tax.

Method 5. There is a technique that is a modification of the previous one. Its main principles are as follows.

The calculation includes all tax payments subject to transfer by the organization to the budget and extra-budgetary funds, that is, the amounts of payments not made, but accrued, since determining the tax burden based on the amounts of taxes actually paid reduces the real level of the tax burden due to a possible discrepancy for one reason or another between the accrued amounts. and actually transferred according to tax payments.

Personal income tax is not included in the calculation as not related to the tax burden on the organization, since it is a tax agent.

Added value of products, calculated by the formula:

DS = B - MZ,

is common denominator, with which tax payments are related.

In addition to the above coefficients (wages and depreciation), this methodology includes additional structural coefficients:

the share of taxes attributable to the cost of production, with the exception of insurance premiums (since they are already included in the wage ratio), in added value, calculated by the formula:

K o = N ss / DS,

where N ss is the amount of taxes related to the cost of production;

- the share of taxes related to non-operating expenses and reducing the organization’s profit before tax (property tax, advertising, etc.), calculated by the formula:

K npr = N pr / DS,

where N pr is the amount of taxes related to non-operating expenses.

The calculation of VAT and insurance premiums is carried out similarly to the previous method using the formula:

VAT = (DS / 118%) × 18% = 0.153DS,

Insurance premiums = (DS × K from / 134%) × 34% = 0.254DS × K from.

The formula for determining corporate income tax must be adjusted to the amount of taxes attributed to the cost of production and paid from the organization’s profit:

N pr = 0.20 × (DS - VAT - (OT + insurance premiums) - A - N ss - N pr).

Using the above structural coefficients, the formula for determining corporate income tax can be transformed as follows:

N pr = 0.20 × DS × (0.847 - K from - K a - K nss - K npr).

The total tax burden is determined as the amount of taxes payable using the formula:

NN = VAT + Insurance premiums + N pr + N ss + N pr.

For the reasons stated above, personal income tax is excluded from the calculation.

In addition, this methodology also assumes the use of a cash withdrawal coefficient, which is the ratio of accrued tax payments to the financial resources actually received by the organization, which is calculated using the formula:

NN = (NP / DS - KB) × 100%,

where NP - accrued tax payments to the budget and extra-budgetary funds (excluding income tax);

DS - the amount of funds received by the organization during the reporting period;

CB - borrowed funds (loans) attracted by the organization in the reporting period.

For optimal tax planning, an organization needs to calculate the tax burden on its activities at least once every six months. Having calculated such an indicator, the organization can decide, for example, to optimize taxation using benefits provided by law. This article discusses one of the methods for calculating the tax burden, which is recommended by official bodies.

Let us determine the impact of taxes paid by the organization on the efficiency of Agrotorgservice LLC.

EXAMPLE

To assess the tax burden at Agrotorservis LLC, we will conduct a comparative tax analysis. The tax analysis will be carried out in two stages.

The first stage tax analysis is an analysis of the absolute tax burden on Agrotorgservis LLC.

To do this, consider the dynamics of the amounts of taxes and fees of Agrotorgservis LLC for 2009-2010. (Table 2).

Table 2. Taxes paid by Agrotorservis LLC in 2009-2010.

As can be seen from table. 2, the total amount of taxes paid in 2010 amounted to 7082 thousand rubles, which is 1581 thousand rubles. more than in 2009. The growth rate of the total amount of taxes was 128.7%. The highest growth rates are observed for income tax - 172.4% (or 473 thousand rubles), as well as for personal income tax - 170.9% (or 502 thousand rubles).

The increase in income tax is explained by an increase in activity volumes and an increase in taxable profit. Personal income tax increased due to an increase in the wage fund and a reduction in the number of personnel.

Table 3. Tax structure of Agrotorgservis LLC in 2009-2010.

As can be seen from table. 3, VAT occupies the largest share in the tax structure. Its share in 2010 is 34.1% of all payments of the enterprise, which is 5.7% less than in 2009.

The share of the unified social tax (insurance contributions) in 2010 is 26.3%, which is 2.1% less than in 2009. The share of income tax in 2010 increased by 4% and amounted to 15.9%. Personal income tax in 2010 also increased by 4.2% and accounts for a share of 17.1%.

Property tax occupies the smallest share in the structure of tax payments and in 2010 amounted to 6.7%, which is 0.4% less than in 2009. Thus, in 2010 compared to 2009, the amount of tax increased on income from individuals and income tax led to an increase in these taxes in the structure.

Based on the first stage of tax analysis, it was possible to find out that the enterprise bears the greatest burden by paying VAT, as well as the unified social tax.

Second stage comparative tax analysis is an analysis of the relative tax burden on an enterprise.

To do this, we will group the taxes paid by the enterprise by types of sources of payment of tax funds (Table 4).

Table 4. Structure of the tax burden of Agrotorgservice LLC, depending on the source of payment of taxes and fees in 2009-2010.

As can be seen from Table 4, the structure of the tax burden depending on the source of tax payment is presented in 4 groups.

The largest share is occupied by taxes included in the cost price. Their share in 2010 was 43.3%, which is 2.2% more than in 2009. The share of indirect taxes is 34.1%, which is 5.7% less than in 2009.

Calculation of the structure of the tax burden depending on the source of payment of taxes and fees is necessary to calculate analytical coefficients of the tax burden. Let's calculate these indicators (Table 5).

Table 5. Analytical coefficients of the tax burden of Agrotorgservis LLC in 2009-2010.

Tax	2009	2010	Change
Tax	2009	2010
The ratio of the amount of all indirect taxes and fees to sales revenue
The ratio of the amount of all direct taxes and fees to sales revenue
The ratio of the amount of corporate income tax to sales revenue
The relationship between income tax and property tax to the amount of balance sheet profit
The ratio of the amount of taxes and fees levied on net profit to the amount of net profit
The ratio of the amounts of taxes and fees included in the cost of production to the amount of cost
The ratio of the amounts of all taxes and fees to sales revenue × 100

The resulting analytical coefficients are stable quantitative characteristics, the dynamics of which allow us to draw conclusions about the trends that have developed in the enterprise taxation system. As can be seen from the table, the ratio of the amount of indirect taxes to revenue in 2010 decreased by 6.9% (100% - 93.1%). This dynamic can also be observed in relation to the amounts of taxes and fees levied on net profit. The remaining coefficients show an increase in the tax burden in 2010 compared to 2009.

Based on the calculated coefficients, we can conclude that, in general, the tax burden increased in 2010. This can be explained by a decrease in the enterprise's debt for taxes and fees from 204 thousand rubles. up to 29 thousand rubles. (line 624 of the balance sheet liability). Overall coefficient tax burden on revenue shows that for every 100 rubles. taxes in 2010 accounted for 3,167 rubles. sales revenue. Moreover, the table data shows that in 2010 the tax burden on revenue increased by 108.7%. Thus, based on the calculated data, we can conclude that, in general, the tax burden at Agrotorservis LLC has an acceptable level.

Opportunities to reduce the tax burden of an enterprise

Tax minimization method	How to use
Tax benefits	You can qualify for some preferential criteria and receive a tax break
Application of various, incl. reduced rates taxation	You can use reduced and zero rates on certain types activities
Various sources of attribution expenses for expenses for the purpose Ch. 25 Tax Code of the Russian Federation	Deductions, refunds, increases in cost property, profit remaining in at the disposal of the enterprise
Tax problems legislation	Taxpayers can do it differently interpret the same tax rule

In reality, tax minimization can be done using both completely legal and illegal methods. The shadow economy generates considerable income for businessmen due to tax evasion, while effective tax planning helps a company reduce tax losses in the long term without breaking laws. For example, breaking up a business may help a company reduce its tax rates, but breaking up a large business into smaller ones must have a specific business justification. Simply put, if a phone manufacturing company spins off headphone production as a separate area, such a decision may be dictated by economic feasibility, but dividing the company into two parts, each of which continues to produce the same phones, will most likely be regarded by auditors as an attempt avoid paying large amounts of taxes.

We are talking mainly about legal ways to reduce the tax burden, which can be achieved both through the above methods and through an effectively structured business of the enterprise (entrepreneur). After all, in general, the taxpayer can adjust the indicators of financial and economic activity with an eye on tax legislation and the latest legislative innovations, thereby “adjusting” to certain benefits and concessions.

The exact opposite of doing business this way is tax evasion. It is, of course, an illegal reduction of the tax burden using various methods - hiding income, withdrawing assets, conducting business between affiliated counterparties, using fly-by-night companies, etc. However, for any such scheme, as a rule, there is a tax inspector who will sooner or later will impose responsibility on the entrepreneur. In addition, most of the “black” schemes have long been known to everyone, so let’s not waste time on them.

There is still a certain “golden” mean between legal optimization and tax evasion. As a rule, in this case we're talking about on the search and use of “holes” in Russian legislation. We will talk about some of these loopholes, however, keep in mind that the legislator is not asleep, the regulatory framework is constantly updated and improved, so that any shortcoming will sooner or later be eliminated top level. We need to watch this so as not to get into trouble!

As stated in Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 9-P, minimizing the tax burden cannot be called illegal if it is impossible to bring specific charges against the taxpayer for committing tax offenses. It turns out that tax optimization, on the one hand, is the desire of the taxpayer to avoid taxes, and on the other, the desire of the state to prevent a reduction in the receipt of tax amounts to the treasury.

Tax optimization- this is a process in which the obligatory participants are the taxpayer and the state with their inherent specific goals determined by the interests, needs and objectives of each party. IN encyclopedic dictionary economics and law tax optimization is a process associated with achieving certain proportions of all financial aspects deal or project. We will give our fairly clear definition of legal optimization - this is a reduction in the tax burden of the taxpayer through targeted actions permitted by law, using benefits provided by law, tax exemptions, concessions, deferments, installments and other legal means.

Tax optimization is usually divided into two types: strategic and targeted. The first lasts a long time and affects several tax periods. Targeted optimization (tax optimization of individual transactions, current) is one-time in nature and involves the use of a certain set of methods that allow reducing the tax burden for the taxpayer in each specific case in a separate tax period (for example, when carrying out a particular operation by choosing the optimal form of transaction).

Prospective tax optimization involves choosing the most effective legal form carrying out economic activities, constructing schemes of financial and economic activities taking into account the most typical relationships, developing appropriate accounting and tax policies, as well as the use of other methods that have a long-term impact on the amount of tax payments. Current tax optimization is carried out by choosing the optimal type of civil law contract to be concluded, determining its terms, and establishing the procedure for performing specific actions during a business transaction.

When maintaining tax records, calculating taxes, and filing tax reports, the taxpayer must take into account the interrelationships of various provisions of tax, accounting, civil and other industries Russian legislation regulating the economic activities of an enterprise or entrepreneur. Often changes in one type of legislation occur earlier than in others. Take, for example, the minimum cost of depreciable property in accounting and tax legislation. Or methods for valuing raw materials and purchased goods: there are four of them in tax accounting, and three in accounting. Or, let’s say, exchange rate and amount differences: in accounting they have long been abolished, but in tax accounting they are successfully used. There are a lot of such inconsistencies. Therefore, as a rule, a conscientious taxpayer can defend his rights in court. Moreover, sometimes he simply does not have time to keep track of all the tax innovations and, even without pursuing the goal of legally minimizing tax payments, may unnoticed by himself not pay the legally established tax. In this case, officials, tax officials, and judges, as a rule, don’t care. Most often, auditors and arbitrators simply do not make a difference between intentional non-payment of taxes, intentional violation of the law and unintentional, careless ones.

Opportunities to reduce the tax burden of an enterprise:

1. Tax benefits, that is, you can meet certain preferential criteria and receive a tax break.

2. Application of various, including reduced, tax rates, that is, reduced and zero rates can be applied to certain types of activities.

3. Various sources of attribution of expenses to expenses for the purposes of Sec. 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, that is, deductions, compensation, increase in the value of property, profit remaining at the disposal of the enterprise.

4. Problems in tax legislation, that is, taxpayers can interpret the same tax norm differently.

For example, breaking up a business may help a company reduce its tax rates, but breaking up a large business into smaller ones must have a specific business justification. Simply put, if a phone manufacturing company spins off headphone production as a separate area, such a decision may be dictated by economic feasibility, but dividing the company into two parts, each of which continues to produce the same phones, will most likely be regarded by auditors as an attempt avoid paying large amounts of taxes.

We are talking mainly about legal ways to reduce the tax burden, which can be achieved both through the above methods and through an effectively structured business of the enterprise (entrepreneur). Indeed, in general, the taxpayer can adjust the indicators of financial and economic activity with an eye to tax legislation and the latest legislative innovations, thereby “adjusting” to certain benefits and concessions.

The exact opposite of doing business this way is tax evasion. It is, of course, an illegal reduction of the tax burden using various methods - concealing income, withdrawing assets, conducting business between affiliated counterparties, using fly-by-night companies, etc. However, for any such scheme, as a rule, there is a tax inspector who will or later will impose responsibility on the entrepreneur. In addition, most of the “black” schemes have long been known to everyone, so let’s not waste time on them.

There is still a certain “golden” mean between legal optimization and tax evasion. As a rule, in this case we are talking about finding and using “holes” in Russian legislation. We will talk about some of these loopholes, however, keep in mind that the legislator is not asleep, the regulatory framework is constantly updated and improved, so that any shortcoming will sooner or later be eliminated at the highest level.

Tax optimization is a process in which the obligatory participants are the taxpayer and the state with their inherent specific goals determined by the interests, needs and objectives of each party. In the encyclopedic dictionary of economics and law, tax optimization is a process associated with achieving certain proportions of all financial aspects of a transaction or project. We will give our fairly clear definition of legal optimization - this is a reduction in the tax burden of the taxpayer through targeted actions permitted by law, using benefits provided by law, tax exemptions, concessions, deferments, installments and other legal methods.

Thus, the main difference between tax optimization and illegal evasion is whether the taxpayer’s actions to reduce his tax burden are legal. Tax optimization is based on the law, so there is no violation of the law in it. Tax optimization is usually divided into two types: strategic and targeted. The first lasts a long time and affects several tax periods. Targeted optimization (tax optimization of individual transactions, current) is one-time in nature and involves the use of a certain set of methods that allow reducing the tax burden for the taxpayer in each specific case in a separate tax period (for example, when carrying out a particular operation by choosing the optimal form of transaction).

Prospective tax optimization involves choosing the most effective legal form of business activity, constructing financial and economic activity schemes taking into account the most typical relationships, developing appropriate accounting and tax policies, as well as the use of other methods that have a long-term impact on the amount of tax payments. Current tax optimization is carried out by choosing the optimal type of civil law contract to be concluded, determining its terms, and establishing the procedure for performing specific actions during a business transaction.

When maintaining tax records, calculating taxes, and filing tax reports, the taxpayer must take into account the interrelationships of various provisions of tax, accounting, civil and other branches of Russian legislation governing the economic activities of an enterprise or entrepreneur. Often changes in one type of legislation occur earlier than in others. Take, for example, the minimum cost of depreciable property in accounting and tax legislation. Or methods for valuing raw materials and purchased goods: there are four of them in tax accounting, and three in accounting. Or, let’s say, exchange rate and amount differences: in accounting they have long been abolished, but in tax accounting they are successfully used. There are a lot of such inconsistencies. Therefore, as a rule, a conscientious taxpayer can defend his rights in court. Moreover, sometimes he simply does not have time to keep track of all the tax innovations and, even without pursuing the goal of legally minimizing tax payments, may unnoticed by himself not pay the legally established tax. In this case, officials, tax officials, and judges, as a rule, don’t care. Most often, auditors and arbitrators simply do not make a difference between intentional non-payment of taxes, intentional violation of the law and unintentional, careless ones.

The goal of the economic activity of any commercial organization is to maximize profits. Therefore, organizations often seek to reduce the tax burden on business. However, under certain circumstances, tax minimization becomes illegal, and as a result, the taxpayer may face serious fines, penalties, and even criminal liability.

In the analysis of the economic activities of any organization, an important role is played by the assessment of tax liabilities, which allows one to determine how burdensome the existing tax system is for an economic entity and what share of resources is attracted by payments to the budget, that is, to determine the tax burden of the enterprise.

The tax burden is the estimated total amount of money payable in the form of import customs duties and contributions to state extra-budgetary funds by the investor implementing the investment project.

This definition is used when assessing the tax burden on a specific investment project and has a number of disadvantages:

1) when assessing, only a quantitative value, an absolute value, is used, without taking into account relationships with other indicators of financial and economic activity;
2) contributions to the Social Protection Fund of the Republic of Belarus are excluded from the calculation, although at the moment they constitute a significant share of the enterprise’s expenses and are the largest payment accrued from the wage fund. Thus, this definition needs some clarification and adjustment for its full application.

Organizations must calculate their tax burden to understand the extent to which their activities and payment of taxes attract the attention of tax authorities, who may decide to conduct an on-site tax audit.

There is no single methodology for calculating the tax burden. The tax burden is assessed using various methods and approaches.

In general, the methods for determining the tax burden of a taxpayer differ in the set of taxes and contributions used. An important role is also played by the base indicator, to which the calculated indicators can be “linked”, that is, the total amount of taxes for the billing period can be compared with it.

The tax component of financial flows plays a significant role in shaping the financial stability of a business entity. This is explained by the fact that, being an integral part of an enterprise’s finances, tax flows have a significant impact on the financial condition, profitability, and liquidity. Tax influence is so great that it can play a decisive role in shaping the strategy and tactics for economic development.

There are a number of problems that significantly complicate the analysis and calculation of minimizing the level of tax burden:

- quite often the results of tax analysis are based on unreliable information. Such information may be distorted for various reasons. For example, understatement or concealment different ways received income and profit in order to minimize taxation.
- detailing the methodology for analyzing taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget led to the development, calculation and superficial use excessive number of coefficients. At the same time, in practice, taxation analysis quite often comes down to a simplified methodology - calculations of structural relationships, rates of change in indicators, and values of calculated coefficients.

Methods for determining the tax burden at the microeconomic level differ in the structure of taxes included in the calculation and the basis of comparison. Most often, the ratio of the amount of accrued tax payments in an organization to the volume of revenue or profit is taken. This approach is also used by the state. In the Republic of Belarus, the tax burden is calculated as the ratio of the amount of taxes, fees paid by a business entity and its income from sales, i.e. revenue. This indicator serves as one of the criteria for classifying enterprises as middle group risk that determines the frequency of inspections in cases where the tax burden in a calendar year is below the average level in the relevant sector of the economy (by type of economic activity) established by the tax authority with which the inspected entity is registered, taking into account the applied taxation system or if it decreases for the audited entity in a calendar year more than in the previous year or than for similar enterprises, industry or region. Thus, successes in minimizing taxes will not remain without assessment by regulatory authorities - and you will be lucky if they consider them legal.

According to the study World Bank Doing Business the overall tax rate in Belarus was 54% of net profit last year, which is higher than in OECD countries (38.7%), Russia (50.7%) and Kazakhstan (28.6%). This is mainly due to high wage taxes (including the Social Security Fund): in our country they amount to 39%, while in the Russian Federation - 36.7%, Kazakhstan - 11.2%, and OECD countries - 22.6%. However, it is hardly correct to compare the tax burden in our country and in developed countries, since per capita income and social security, the level of protection of business rights and private property are much higher there. So when comparing tax burden indicators, it is worth making allowances for the level of quality of services provided by the state.

In addition, traditional methods characterize only the tax intensity of GDP or products (works or services), but do not provide a real picture of the tax burden of taxpayers, and do not allow us to determine the influence of the structure, quantity and mechanism for collecting taxes, industry and other features. Thus, Doing Business examines the tax burden of a metropolitan small enterprise with a general taxation regime. But for companies that use the “simplified tax system” (and this is more than 1/3 of legal entities in Belarus), the tax burden is significantly lower, and for manufacturers of excisable products it is usually higher than the “average rating” level.

It is important for an organization to have real financial resources at its disposal. Therefore, of particular interest is the determination of the tax burden by the cash withdrawal ratio, which is the ratio of tax payments accrued in the reporting period to the funds actually received by the organization minus the borrowed resources raised in this period. An even more complex technique involves calculating the tax burden as the ratio of all taxes to the sum of the sources of their payment. In this case, the amount of tax payments includes all taxes paid, incl. those for which the company is a tax agent. This allows you to determine the share of taxes in revenue, profit, as well as the share of wages, depreciation, taxes and net profit in each ruble of products created. Thus, the tax burden is considered as a function of the type of production, varying depending on material intensity, labor intensity (labor costs) and capital intensity (depreciation) and defined as the share of added value withdrawn by the state.

If you use such methods, you can assess the impact of fiscal policy on the provision of working capital and the solvency of enterprises. In this case, the determining role is sometimes played not by tax rates, but by changes in tax rules that are imperceptible at first glance.

Minimizing tax payments

So, as noted above, tax optimization involves minimizing tax payments (in the long and short term for any issue), as well as avoiding penalties from the fiscal authorities, which is achieved by the correct calculation and timely payment of taxes.

Tax minimization is a misleading concept. In reality, of course, the goal should not be to minimize (reduce) taxes, but to increase the enterprise’s profit after tax.

The goal of tax minimization- not a reduction in any tax as such, but an increase in all financial resources of the enterprise. Optimizing the tax policy of an enterprise allows you to avoid overpaying taxes at any given time, albeit not by much, but, as you know, today's money is much more expensive than tomorrow's. In conditions of high tax rates, incorrect or insufficient consideration of the tax factor can lead to very unfavorable consequences or even cause bankruptcy of the enterprise. The situation when an enterprise pays taxes “head-on”, that is, following the letter of the law formally, without reference to the specifics of its own business, is becoming increasingly rare and indicates that no one worked on taxes at the enterprise.

Reducing tax payments only at first glance leads to an increase in the profit of the enterprise. This dependence is not always so direct and immediate. It is quite possible that a reduction in some taxes will lead to an increase in others, as well as to financial sanctions from regulatory authorities. Therefore, most effective way increasing profitability is not a mechanical tax cut, but building effective system enterprise management. As practice shows, this approach provides a significant and sustainable reduction in tax losses over the long term.

As mentioned above, the state provides many opportunities to reduce tax payments. This is due to the tax benefits provided for in the legislation, and the presence of different tax rates, and the existence of gaps and ambiguities in the legislation, not only due to the low legal qualifications of legislators, but also due to the impossibility of taking into account all the circumstances arising during the calculation and payment of a particular tax .

Basic methods of reducing the tax burden of an enterprise

All methods used in practice to reduce the tax burden can be conditionally divided depending on the nature of their occurrence into two main groups:

1. legal, due to the presence of tax benefits, the legislatively granted right to the taxpayer of choice various options taxation, the presence of conflicts in tax legislation, as well as the lack of regulation of certain taxation options;

2. economic, based on changes in the financial and economic indicators of the enterprise’s activities, such as the volume of output, revenue, profit margins, wage fund, etc.

The division into these two groups is caused by the dual nature of the functioning of the enterprise taxation system.

a brief description of economic and legal methods for minimizing the tax burden are presented in table 1

Table 1.3 – Comparative assessment of methods for reducing the tax burden

№	Index	Methods for reducing the tax burden
Legal	Economic
	Cause of occurrence	– availability of tax benefits; – legislative provision of the taxpayer with the right to choose various taxation options; presence of conflicts in tax legislation; specific taxation options not regulated by tax legislation	Taxation of various economic elements separate taxes at different rates
	Possibility of application	Limited	Not limited
	Effect produced	Reducing the amount of tax liabilities and deferring the period of their occurrence	Reducing the amount of tax liabilities
	Basic methods	– optimization through the development of an order on accounting policies; – optimization through a contract; – through replacement or separation of relationships; – application of benefits; – offshore method or preferential enterprise method	– change in profitability; – change in cost structure
	Efficiency	Theoretically up to 100%	Up to 20%
	Risk of application of liability measures by the state	Significant	Absent
	State countermeasures	– filling in “gaps” in tax legislation; – presumption of taxability; – the right to appeal to tax and other authorities; – the doctrine of “being over form”; – the “business purpose” doctrine.	Changing the composition and structure of the state tax system

Currently, the features of domestic tax legislation allow enterprises to apply the following main methods of reducing the tax burden :

1. Optimization method through the development of an order on academic policy;

2. Optimization method through a contract;

3. Method of minimizing taxation through replacement or separation of relations;

4. Tax payment deferment method;

5. Method of direct reduction of the object of taxation;

6. Offshore method;

7. Application of benefits or method of choosing the optimal tax regime.

Let us consider in more detail the above methods of reducing the tax burden.

Optimization method through the development of an order on academic policy

The essence of this method is that when developing an order on accounting policies, the enterprise has the right to choose various conditions taxation, such as:

· choosing the procedure for recognizing income and expenses using the cash or accrual method, which affects the procedure for determining the tax base for corporate income tax;

· choice of method for calculating depreciation on fixed production assets. The use of the accelerated depreciation method increases the amount of depreciation deductions and, therefore, increases the amount of expenses, which ultimately reduces taxable income.

Methods of reducing the tax burden by developing an order on accounting policies are most common in domestic enterprises. The right to choose the accounting policy of an enterprise is granted by the legislator and, therefore, the use of this methodology is the safest for enterprises. The main provisions of the method for optimizing the tax burden through the development of an order on accounting policies are presented in Table 1.3.1

Table 1.3.1 – Influence of accounting policy elements on the taxation of an enterprise

№	Elements of accounting policies	Alternative accounting methods	Impact not taxation
	Valuation of inventories and calculation of the actual cost of material resources in production	a) at full cost; b) using the FIFO method; c) using the LIFO method; d) at the cost per unit of purchased resources
	Calculation of depreciation on fixed assets	A) linear method; b) non-linear method
	Creating reserves for upcoming expenses and payments	a) creating reserves to pay for vacations based on the results of work for the year, for the repair of fixed assets; b) lack of reserves
	Accounting for repair costs of fixed assets	a) inclusion of costs in the cost of the reporting period; b) creating a reserve for upcoming costs to include them in different reporting periods; c) accumulation of costs as part of deferred expenses without creating a reserve
	Method for determining revenue from product sales for tax purposes	a) cash method; b) accrual method

Note

– increasing the impact of taxation;

– reducing the impact of taxation;

– equal direction of influence on taxation.

Relationship Replacement Method

As a rule, the same economic goal (purchase of property, generation of income, etc.) can be achieved in several ways. Current legislation does not limit a business entity in choosing the form and individual terms of a transaction, choosing a counterparty, etc. Due to the dispositive nature of civil law, the parties can enter into any agreement containing any conditions, if it does not contradict the general meaning of civil law. The entrepreneur has the right to independently choose any of the acceptable options, taking into account the efficiency of the operation in both purely economically, and from a tax point of view.

This is the basis of the relationship replacement method: an operation that involves burdensome taxation is replaced by an operation that allows one to achieve the same or as close as possible a goal, and at the same time apply a more preferential taxation procedure.

Any civil law contract contains essential conditions that make it possible to distinguish this type of contract from another. In addition, each contract is characterized by its special execution procedure. In this regard, it should be especially noted that it is the legal relations (the entire set of rights and obligations) and all the essential terms of the contract that must be replaced, and not just the formal side of the transaction (for example, the name of the contract). That is, the replacement should not contain signs of pretense or fictitiousness. The entire contract is subject to replacement, and all actual actions of the parties must indicate the fulfillment of this particular contract.

The operation of the replacement method can be illustrated using the following examples.

1. Replacement of the fixed asset purchase and sale agreement
for a financial leasing agreement. Tax optimization in in this case is achieved as follows. Instead of acquiring a fixed asset under a sale and purchase agreement, it is acquired under a financial leasing agreement. Moreover, the fixed asset must be taken into account on the balance sheet of the lessee. As a result, the latter has the right:

– apply an increasing factor of 3 to the depreciation rate;

– leasing payments directed to the purchase of fixed assets should be included in expenses taken into account for tax purposes.

Under the usual scheme, only depreciation can be taken into account as expenses.

1. Replacement of the fixed asset purchase and sale agreement with a lease agreement. This scheme is in some way a derivative of the first, but at the same time can have independent significance. It can be used when a party to the contract is an individual. The fact is that from January 1, 2002, in connection with the entry into force of Chapter 25 “Organizational Profit Tax” of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, it is possible to include in expenses and, accordingly, reduce profits by the amount of payments for renting property from individuals. This is due to the fact that in accordance with clause 10 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, expenses take into account rental (leasing) payments for rented (leasing) property. Previously, according to the provisions of the Regulation on the composition of costs, the cost included the costs of renting fixed assets, not property.

2. Replacement of one-time incentive payments with a bonus based on results
work provided for by the systemic position of the enterprise.

Very often, enterprises pay their employees personal and one-time bonuses to wages according to the production results of the enterprise on individual orders of the manager in the absence of systemic provisions on remuneration. There are also payments that are not at all related to the production activities of the enterprise, for example, bonuses for birthdays, anniversaries, special bonuses for non-smokers, etc.

It must be taken into account that these payments are not subject to attribution to expenses taken into account in profit taxation. Also, the payments under consideration are included in full in the base for calculating the unified social tax on the basis of Article 236 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Thus, bonuses based on the results of the enterprise’s work, not provided for by the current systemic provisions, and bonuses not related to the production activities of the enterprise, are paid from net profit and are subject to inclusion in the base for calculating the unified social tax.

These payments can be quite simply replaced with bonuses paid based on the results of the enterprise’s work, provided for by systemic provisions. To do this, it is necessary to adopt the appropriate regulations on bonuses, or extend all existing Regulations for a year when approving the order on accounting policies.

In this case, the premiums paid must be charged to expenses that reduce profits.

Relationship separation method

The relationship separation method is based on the replacement method. Only in this case, not the entire business transaction is replaced, but only part of it, or the business transaction is divided into several. The separation method is used, as a rule, in cases where a complete replacement does not allow achieving a result that is closest to the goal of the original operation.

The application of the separation method can be illustrated using the following examples.

1. Dividing the building reconstruction operation into the actual reconstruction and major repairs.

According to Article 257 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the costs of an enterprise for the reconstruction of depreciable property objects increase the initial cost and are taken into account for tax purposes through depreciation charges. At the same time, the costs of major repairs are taken into account for tax purposes in the reporting period in which they were incurred (Article 257 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

As a rule, when reconstructing industrial premises of medium and small businesses (offices, shops, etc.), the premises acquire completely different characteristics. In this case, it is impossible to completely replace the agreement for the reconstruction of the premises with an agreement the subject of which is a major overhaul, since it will be very difficult to prove to the tax authorities the “current repair” nature of the work performed.

But the division (partial replacement) of reconstruction into reconstruction itself and major repairs, subject to compliance general conditions Attributing costs to cost will allow you to include part of the costs incurred in the cost of products (works, services).

Two independent contract agreements are concluded with the construction organization - for reconstruction and major repairs. It must be taken into account that the objects of the work performed must be different. For example, for rooms 1, 2, 3, which are being converted into a sales area (it is planned to demolish internal partitions, replace ceilings, etc.), a contract for reconstruction is concluded. A contract for major repairs is being concluded for rooms 4, 5, 6, which will be used as employee offices.

2. Division of the property purchase and sale agreement into the actual purchase and sale agreement and the agreement for the provision of information and consulting services.

When purchasing property, it is possible to divide the payment amounts into payments on two bases, for example, 80 percent of the cost is paid under a purchase and sale agreement, and 20 percent - under an agreement for the provision of information and consulting services on the main production activities of the enterprise.

In this case, the amount paid under the contract for the provision of information and consulting services is applied to the cost of products (works, services) at a time, VAT paid to the seller of services is applied to settlements with the budget.

The effect of such an operation can be achieved as follows:

– the value of property and, accordingly, property tax decreases;

– in terms of services, expenses are reduced at a time, and not through depreciation over a number of years;

– if property is purchased for capital construction and is accounted for on account 08 “Capital Investments”, then VAT amounts (in terms of services) will also be written off immediately, and not after the facility is put into operation.

At the same time, it should be understood that there is a danger of recognizing this transaction as imaginary. However, if the seller and service provider are different legal entities, or the purchase and sale and service agreements will be significantly separated in time, it will be difficult to prove the connection between these two transactions. In any case, this operation requires careful and correct execution.

Offshore method

The offshore (tax haven) method or the preferential enterprise method, which allows you to reduce the amount of tax liabilities for the enterprise as a whole, through the use of a simplified taxation system, registration of the enterprise in regions of preferential taxation, etc.

The offshore method is understood as a set of methods that are based on the transfer of the taxable object to the jurisdiction of a more lenient tax regime. There are several categories of methods for transferring a taxable object:

Territorial offshore method. This method is based on the use of offshore traditional understanding and consists in transferring the object of taxation (individual transactions, activities as a whole, property, etc.) to a territory that has a more preferential tax regime.

The legal basis for the functioning of territorial offshore mechanisms is the principle of territorial tax residency adopted by the legislation of the Russian Federation (limitation of the validity of tax legislation to a certain territory - the territory of the Russian Federation, the territory of a subject of the federation, the territory subordinate to local authority authorities).

1. Transfer of profits to an offshore company through a commission agreement or mandate.

An enterprise located outside an offshore zone (hereinafter referred to as the Enterprise) instructs an offshore company (hereinafter referred to as the Company) on its own behalf, but at the expense of the Enterprise, to sell a certain product (a commission agreement is concluded).

The amount of the Company's remuneration as a commission agent is set in an amount that is the maximum possible portion of the profit from the sale of goods.

Since the Company’s costs for executing the order are minimal (in fact, the company can sell the goods without the participation of an intermediary), the entire amount of remuneration will be the Company’s profit, taxed at the minimum rate.

2. Transfer of profits to an offshore company through the conclusion of an agreement for the provision of consulting services.

The contract for the provision of information and consulting services is one of the most effective tools tax optimization.

An agreement for the provision of consulting services is concluded between the Enterprise (customer) and the Company (contractor). The enterprise, subject to compliance with all legal requirements on the basis of sub. 15 clause 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation will include the costs of paying remuneration to the contractor as expenses, and paid VAT as settlements with the budget. It is almost impossible to control the fact of provision and content of information and consulting services, therefore, the Company’s costs for providing the service can be minimized. The amount of remuneration will be the Company’s profit, taxed at the minimum rate.

3. Transfer of taxable objects by creating an offshore dealer company.

The use of an exclusive dealer who purchases the enterprise's products at prices close to cost and sells them in transit at market prices, leaving almost all the profit to the dealer, is widely used to “pump” funds from the enterprise. However, this scheme can also be used for the benefit of the enterprise - by establishing a dealer in an offshore zone. In addition to optimizing income tax, this scheme reduces VAT and user tax in terms of dealer markup highways and local taxes, the object of taxation of which is the volume of sales.

Enough difficult question Applications of all offshore schemes are ways to “extract” accumulated funds from an offshore company. Legal and reasonable ways to use these funds are interest-free lending to the Enterprise, payment of dividends to the founders of an offshore company who are also the founders of the Enterprise, placing funds on bank deposits, etc.

Dividend scheme

One of the popular types of “earnings” schemes is the registration of payments to employees in the form of dividends, which allows you to pay personal income tax at a rate of 9% (clause 4 of Article 224 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), and the unified social tax is not paid at all (clause 1 of Art. 236 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

In a simplified version, such a diagram looks like this. A new company is created, shares in which are acquired by company employees at a low nominal value. Profits from the main company are then transferred to the newly created company and distributed in the form of dividends to employee shareholders.

As a rule, when using a dividend scheme, profits distributed as dividends are earned by those organizations that have switched to a simplified taxation system at a rate of 6% or pay a single tax on imputed income (UTI). In such a situation, the amount of taxes paid on profits that will be distributed as dividends will decrease and the scheme will become even more effective.

Bonus scheme

The bonus scheme is similar to the dividend scheme. It can be used if among the founders of an organization that has employees, there is a company that owns a share in the authorized capital of the organization of more than 50%. This parent company transfers funds free of charge to the company to finance its activities. Such an operation for the company that receives the funds does not entail an additional obligation to pay VAT (Article 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) and income tax (clause 11, clause 1, Article 251 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The company distributes the money received among its employees in the form of free financial assistance(preferably based on the decision general meeting participants).

These payments are subject only to personal income tax (NDFL) at a rate of 13%. The unified social tax is not paid, since formally these payments are gratuitous financial assistance, and not remuneration (Article 236 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). To avoid problems with the tax inspectorate, it is better to make a decision on issuing financial assistance to employees at a meeting of the founders (shareholders) of the company.

But this scheme is effective when the parent company’s profit tax rate is low (in particular, the latter can be a foreign offshore company; a company using a simplified taxation system or paying a single tax on imputed income).

The bonus scheme is usually used in cases where the income tax is a small amount (for example, if the founder is foreign organization, registered in an offshore zone, or a company that has switched to a simplified taxation system or pays a single tax on imputed income).

As can be seen from the above diagrams, proper use of the opportunities provided by tax legislation will allow optimizing “salary” taxes and reducing the tax burden.

Interest scheme

The meaning of interest schemes comes down to paying most of the income to employees in the form of interest on bills or bonds.

In a simplified version, the diagram looks like this. In addition to the main company “A”, company “B” is created. New organization issues its own interest-bearing bill to company “A” and receives money from it in the amount of the nominal value of the bill. Then company “A” enters into a contract for the sale and purchase of a bill of exchange at par with the employee. Upon expiration of the period for which the bill of exchange was issued, the employee presents it for redemption to company “B” and receives the face value of the bill of exchange and interest. After this, the employee pays company “A” for the bill.

Interest income is taxed by the employee at a rate of 13%, and the unified social tax is not paid (such payments are not remuneration for labor or for the provision of services). In addition, the amount of interest reduces (within the limits established by Article 269 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) the taxable profit of company “B”. Consequently, the tax burden when using the percentage scheme consists only of the amount of income tax and is equal to 14.94%.

Scheme steps:

1) DF issues its bill of exchange (interest-bearing) to the Civil Code as security for the loan;

2) the employee buys this bill from the Civil Code with a deferred payment;

3) the employee, within the period established by the bill of exchange, presents it for repayment of the DF (face value of the bill of exchange + interest);

4) the employee pays the face value of the Civil Code bill.

Effect: interest income is subject to personal income tax at a rate of 13%, and the unified social tax is not paid. In addition, the DF has the right to reduce the amount of interest within the limits of Art. 269 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation your taxable profit.

Chapter 1 Minimizing the tax burden as a direction for improving the enterprise taxation system